Non-Fiction (2018)

Set in the Parisian publishing world, an editor and an author find themselves in over their heads, as they cope with a middle-age crisis, the changing industry and their wives.

Director:

Olivier Assayas

Writer:

Olivier Assayas

Stars:

Guillaume Canet, Juliette Binoche, Vincent Macaigne

1 win & 7 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Guillaume Canet	...	Alain Danielson
Juliette Binoche	...	Selena
Vincent Macaigne	...	Léonard Spiegel
Christa Théret	...	Laure d'Angerville
Nora Hamzawi	...	Valérie
Pascal Greggory	...	Marc-Antoine Rouvel
Laurent Poitrenaux	...	Maxime Caron
Sigrid Bouaziz	...	Victorine
Lionel Dray	...	L'ami éditeur
Nicolas Bouchaud	...	David
Antoine Reinartz	...	Blaise - le libraire d'Arles
Aurélia Petit	...	L'invitée de Marc-Antoine
Thierry de Peretti	...	L'invité de Marc-Antoine
Violaine Gillibert	...	Paloma - l'amie de Marc-Antoine
Jean-Luc Vincent	...	Carsten - un écrivain

Storyline

Set in the Parisian publishing world, an editor and an author find themselves in over their heads, as they cope with a middle-age crisis, the changing industry and their wives.

---

Plot Keywords:

gay | female nudity | author | book | affair | 

---

Taglines:

A comedy about current affairs

---

Genres:

Comedy | Drama | Romance

---

Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for some language and sexuality/nudity

Did You Know?

Trivia

When Olivier Assayas began writing the screenplay for Doubles Lives in the mid-2000s, he was not yet aware that he would make a feature film. For a long time, the director had been working on the story of a publisher confronted with the transformation of the world and its ability to adapt to it.

---

Connections

References The Leopard (1963)

---

Soundtracks

Abrasive
Written by Evan Mast and Michael Stroud
Performed by Ratatat

User Reviews

So very French, so very entertaining, so very smart.

"Books are no more threatened by Kindle than stairs by elevators." Stephen Fry

If you like things French such as conversation, books, love, infidelity, bourgeoise comforts, Eric Rohmer, and Juliette Binoche, then go right to Olivier Assayas' Non-Fiction. Here's a fiction film about incessant arguing over books vs. e-books, roman a clef, and the politics of publishing in a world where the Internet is shaping even the way talented authors structure their dramas.

Books and the Internet, along with the shape of e-books, informs almost every heated discussion of the fetching comedy with a bit of darkness to make it oh-so French interesting. Publisher Alain (Guillaume Canet) refuses to publish long-time writer and client Leonard's (Vincent Macaigne) newest novel possibly because Leonard has a habit of disguising well know people in his characters, this time may be Selena, wife of Alain, and lover of Leonard. After six years of this tomfoolery, do you think Alain might know?

While Assayas has a good old time with this old-time French drawing room stuff, all get togethers evolve into arguments about the viability of hard-bound books versus digital newcomers. No conclusion is made, except for the viewer who delights in the robust shenanigans that disguise the obsession writers and publishers now have over the mortality of books, hard or soft.

Regardless, the middle-aged literati are disguising their own fear of extinction in the face of Tweeted emotions in so many words and young folk who may not read anymore anyway. Even promotion of a book must attend to the right navigation on social media.

It's all heady words for this word lover who is delighted by such clever screwball setups and the idea, like any debate about the existence of God, that because we talk about books, they will endure. This comedy is not so much raucous as it is profound with a whole bunch of French sensibility and sex. I vote for that to endure right along with books.

"Lovers of print are simply confusing the plate for the food." Douglas Adams

Details

Official Sites:

Juliette Binoche: The Art of Being - Official Fansite Official site

Country:

France

Language:

French

Release Date:

3 May 2019 (USA)

Also Known As:

Non-Fiction

Filming Locations:

Paris, France

Box Office

Opening Weekend USA:

$29,853, 5 May 2019

Gross USA:

$704,919

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$3,649,042

Company Credits

Production Co:

CG Cinéma, Vortex Sutra, Arte France Cinéma

Technical Specs

Runtime:

108 min

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1