Certain institutions are indispensable if one wants to know Paris. One of these is the Comédie-Française, a national theater dedicated to Molière but which also puts on plays by other classic French dramatists, foreign greats, and some modern playwrights. The theater has a dedicated corps of players, and when they join the elect henceforth have “de la Comédie-Française” attached to their names, like British lords and ladies. The cast of the new comedy De La Comédie-Française are all real-life members, as the opening credits dutifully show. The two directors, Martin Darondeau and Bertrand Usclat, have their own names in the credits cheekily followed by “not of the Comédie-Française.” This indicates that the filmmakers intend to give the sacred institution a mischievous poke in the eye. The film’s premise is simple: a young actress, Nina (Pauline Clément) is having her first directorial effort, a staging of Macbeth, put on at the theater and must overcome a number of obstacles. Actually, a slew of obstacles. First and foremost, the friend she chose to play Lady Macbeth is stuck in a provincial town somewhere and can’t make it to Paris on time. Yikes! © De la Comédie-Française/ Atelier de Production/ France 2 Cinema Another issue concerns the stage manager’s responsibilities, whether for proper lighting or configuring of props. Their views often diverge, to say the least, though the manager (Christian Hecq) tends to add as a disclaimer, “You’re the director.” He also has a way of making short stories long and complaining about the way he’s treated. A major concern of the film is the class system within the theater, with blue-collar technicians taken for granted. As with other issues dealt with in the film, the directors have a touch which isn’t exactly light, but can be quite funny. The directors also tackle the situation of minority people working — or trying to work — in the elite theater. A young black man (engagingly played by Sefoa Yesboa) works as an usher, but is also an aspiring actor waiting for the results from a conservatory. He’s been reading up on Macbeth, and so is ready to help the actors with their lines, but is treated as a nonentity. Another person of color (Séphora Pondi), who’s replacing the regular make-up artist, is determined to get the respect she deserves for her work (though her make-up choices are on the eccentric side). Here the directors use not just humor, but skillful grafts of le happy end, to get the audience thinking (but not too hard). © De la Comédie-Française/ Atelier de Production/ France 2 Cinema