Review: Playtime

Illustrations by Grace McKenna

Venue: Edinburgh University Film Society (Upper Hall, Pleasance)

★ ★ ★ ★ ★

Playtime follows the bumbling Monsieur Hulot—among other characters—as they

navigate a hyper-consumerist Paris in a variety of sketches. It is made up of six

segments: (1) the airport, (2) the offices, (3) the trade exhibition, (4) the apartments,

(5) the restaurant, and (6) the roundabout. Being made up of such a wide range of

sketches, it’s difficult to explain the plot as a whole—but to watch this movie in such

a way misses the point. Although the characters recur throughout the different

sketches, the narrative (and even the dialogue) is fairly irrelevant. Instead, the film

focuses on creating a masterclass in clown comedy. However, this isn’t to say Tati’s

piece isn’t saying anything—quite the opposite—but rather, that its messages are

more subtle and visual.

Playtime is in many ways a French take on Mr Bean; from accidentally stumbling into

lifts to chasing reflections, Monsieur Hulot’s lack of awareness is immediately

apparent. Tati’s comedy, however, is more subtle than Atkinson’s. Throughout the

movie, the audience is restrained to a state of tittering. An example of this is Hulot

fooling around with the waiting chairs; it’s a simple gag, but it keeps your lips tense,

ready to laugh. Then, when Tati hits the audience with the scene where Giffard is

walking seemingly for an eternity in conspicuously loud shoes, your lips are finally

released.

This film is superlative in its genre, beautifully combining visual and auditory comedy

and throwing it into a cinematic pot of chaos. From Hulot getting completely lost in

the offices, to the door salesman slamming a door “in golden silence”, to the

restaurant falling to pieces, the movie consists of an entire cast of clowns. This sets

Tati’s comedy apart from Mr Bean since—although Hulot is the main clown of the

story—everyone on set contributes to the absurdity.

Beyond this, Playtime is saying more than initially meets the eye. Absurd comedy

aside, the movie makes an interesting artistic commentary on consumerism.

Although set in Paris, the city itself is never quite seen—only through reflections.

Instead, the imagery focuses on hyper-brutalist buildings in which everything takes

place. At the time in 1960s France, President Charles de Gaulle was attempting to

reshape Paris with brutalist modern buildings to improve France economically.

Seeing this, Tati created this film set to challenge such an aesthetically displeasing

shift in Paris and uses Hulot to show the disorienting nature of hyper-commercialism.

Tati handles socio-economic change in the best way possible: through hilariously

absurd caricatures. His unique artistic approach undoubtedly solidifies Playtime as a

true masterpiece in its genre.