Faux et usage de faux (1990)
Directed by Laurent Heynemann

Film Review

Faux et usage de faux is loosely based on the true story of the well-known writer Romain Gary.  Under the pseudonym Emile Ajar, Gary published a novel entitled La Vie devant soi which proved to be a great critical and commercial success, winning the Prix Goncourt in 1975 before being adapted as an Oscar-winning film (which starred none other than Simone Signoret) in 1977. Despite the director's disclaimer at the start of the film, Faux et usage de faux accurately parallels all of the incidents in this extraordinary affair, demonstrating that fact is often stranger than fiction.

Philippe Noiret and Robin Renucci take the principal roles in the film, with the former particularly well-suited to play the solitary maverick writer. Lacking his customary bonhomie, Noiret brings a slightly sinister edge to his darkly introspective performance, which serves the film well. The quality of the acting and writing amply make up for the film's uneven, and at times lethargic pacing. Despite being about one of the most remarkable deceptions in French literary history, Faux et usage de faux is a fairly minor entry in the oeuvre of director Laurent Heynemann, whose best work for the cinema includes a provocative meditation on the Algerian War, La Question (1977), and the off-kilter comedy-thriller La Vieille qui marchait dans la mer (1991).

Film Synopsis

The writer Anatole Hirsch has become one of the most eminent literary figures in France.  But whilst his books sell very respectably he is increasingly convinced this is because of his celebrity and not a reflection of the merit of his work.  Consequently, he decides to publish his next novel under the pseudonym Émile Arthus.  The novel is a great success and wins the coveted French literary award, the Prix Goncourt.  To keep up the deception, Hirsch engages his nephew Martin to pretend to be the book's author.  At first Martin appreciates the celebrity and wealth this newfound success buys him, but then the stress on his marriage and his relationship with Hirsh soon begins to tell.  Things come to a head when Hirsch's next novel, again written under his pseudonym, proves to be a disaster.