The Dinner (2017 film)

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The Dinner
The Dinner (2017 film).jpg
Theatrical release poster
Directed by Oren Moverman
Screenplay byOren Moverman
Based on The Dinner
by Herman Koch
Produced by
Starring Richard Gere
Laura Linney
Steve Coogan
Rebecca Hall
CinematographyBobby Bukowski
Edited byAlex Hall
Music byElijah Brueggemann
Production
companies
  • ChubbCo Film
  • Code Red
  • Blackbird
Distributed by The Orchard (United States)
Vertigo Releasing (United Kingdom)
Release dates
  • February 10, 2017 (2017-02-10)(Berlin)
  • May 5, 2017 (2017-05-05)(United States)
Running time
120 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Box office$2.5 million [1]

The Dinner is an 2017 American drama film directed and written by Oren Moverman, and based on the Dutch novel of the same name by Herman Koch. It is the third film adaptation of the novel, following the 2013 original Dutch version Het Diner by Menno Meyjes and the 2014 Italian film I nostri ragazzi by Ivano De Matteo. The film stars Richard Gere, Steve Coogan, Laura Linney, Rebecca Hall, Chloë Sevigny, Charlie Plummer, Miles J. Harvey, and Adepero Oduye.

Contents

The Dinner had its world premiere at the Berlin Film Festival on February 10, 2017, before it was theatrically released on May 5 by The Orchard.

Plot

On a snowy evening in Dobbs Ferry, history teacher Paul Lohman, his wife Claire, Paul's congressman brother Stan, and Stan's wife Katelyn meet for an organized dinner at a luxury restaurant that Stan has booked for the four of them. Before dinner, Paul and Claire discuss their son Michael, who is closer to her than him. Paul and Stan appear to have a contentious relationship.

Stan, the front runner for governor, is accompanied to dinner by his aides, who frequently interrupt the meal. Paul is annoyed by Stan and lets everyone know.

In a flashback, Michael and his cousins Rick and Beau (Stan’s children with ex-wife Barbara, Beau is adopted) encounter a homeless woman trying to sleep in the ATM building that they need to use to get money for a cab ride home. Michael verbally and physically harasses the woman while Rick and Beau look on. Michael dumps trash on the woman while taunting her. After throwing near-empty cans of flammable material on her, Michael throws lit matches on her sleeping bag, one of which catches fire and kills her. Michael, who is laughing as he watches the woman burn, records the event on his cell phone. Beau leaves before the death occurred but witnesses it as an unprovoked attack.

Throughout the dinner, tensions build up among the group intercut with flashbacks that view the dysfunctional family's past, and Stan's attempts to help Paul in his depression. The arguments grow tense as they clash on whether the boys should take the blame or simply cover up their wrongdoing.

Another flashback shows Claire's bout with cancer. In the present day, Paul finds out that there is a video of the homeless woman's death online that Beau uploaded after he found it on Michael's computer. Michael refuses to delete the video, which causes a schism between him and his father. Paul is also shocked to find that not only does Claire know about the incident (which he thought he was keeping secret from her), she is colluding with Michael in a scheme to pay hush money to Beau.

In another flashback, after Stan and his first wife offer to look after Michael while Claire is in the hospital, Paul becomes angry and hits him over the head with a saucepan. At the dinner, Stan says he wants to withdraw from the gubernatorial race and hold a press conference about the ATM incident, later accompanying his son to the police. A bitter argument ensues between Stan on one side and Claire and Katelyn on the other, with Paul sitting quietly away from the table. Katelyn persuades Stan to hold off on his plan.

Convinced that Stan and Kate are prepared to turn in both Michael and Rick, Claire and Paul discuss the need to take care of Beau. Paul admits that he has been off his medications for a few months; Claire admits she has known that, but said nothing because she wanted Paul back. She tells Paul that he needs to "take care" of Beau. When he asks her what she means, she says, after a moment's hesitation, that he needs to "talk" with Beau, and convince him not to turn in their son.

Paul leaves the restaurant for Stan's house looking for Beau, believing that the only solution to the problem is to kill him. Beau leaves the house to talk to Paul, who grabs him by the neck and prepares to hit Beau over the head with a rock to prevent him from turning in the other boys. Paul is confronted by an enraged Stan alongside Katelyn and Claire. While Katelyn tries to phone Beau, a call comes into Stan's aide that the votes needed for the mental health bill are secure. The film ends on an abrupt note as Paul refers to everyone as "apes with phones" and groans in pain. Although no one can reach Beau on his cell phone, Paul says he was just talking to him.

Cast

Oren Moverman (left) with the cast at Berlinale 2017 Crew The Dinner Berlinale 2017 01.jpg
Oren Moverman (left) with the cast at Berlinale 2017

Production

In September 2013, Cate Blanchett was attached to make her directorial debut with a film adaptation of the Dutch thriller novel The Dinner , by Herman Koch, scripted by Oren Moverman. Caldecot Chubb produced under his ChubbCo Film banner, and Lawrence Inglee, Eddie Vaisman and Julia Lebedev produced the film for Code Red, ChubbCo and Blackbird. Code Red fully financed the film and Protagonist Pictures handled international sales. [2] Olga Segura and Eva Maria Daniels executive produced and helped with the development of the project. [2]

Later, in January 2016, Moverman was hired to direct the film. [3] That same month, Charlie Plummer and Adepero Oduye joined the cast of the film. [4] [5]

Filming

Principal photography on the film began on January 21, 2016, in Dobbs Ferry, New York. [6] [7] Filming later took place in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, including at the Gettysburg National Military Park. [8]

Release

In May 2016, The Orchard acquired distribution rights to the film. [9] In 2017, the film had its world premiere at the Berlin International Film Festival on February 10, [10] [11] and went on to screen at the Tribeca Film Festival on April 24. [12] [13] The film was theatrically released on May 5. [14]

Critical reception

The Dinner holds a 46% approval rating on review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, based on 142 reviews, with an average rating of 5.5/10. The website's critical consensus reads, "The Dinner's strong ensemble isn't enough to overcome a screenplay that merely skims the surface of its source material's wit and insight." [15] On Metacritic, the film holds a rating of 57 out of 100, based on 30 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews". [16]

Owen Gleiberman of Variety gave the film a positive review, writing: "Richard Gere, Laura Linney, Steve Coogan, and Rebecca Hall make a riveting quartet in Oren Moverman's adaptation of the Herman Koch novel about a dark-hearted dinner gathering." [17] Eric Kohn of IndieWire also gave the film a positive review, writing: "The Dinner mostly works so long as it stays at the table, and the unresolvable source of anxiety in play suggests that on some level, the meal never ends." [18] Boyd van Hoeij of The Hollywood Reporter gave the film a negative review, writing: "By trying to keep the prolonged sit-down affair from becoming excessively stagey, Moverman adds too many distracting flashbacks to maintain the original's hard-hitting and well-aimed gut punch." [19]

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References

  1. ↑ The Dinner at Box Office Mojo
  2. 1 2 Fleming, Mike Jr. (September 19, 2013). "Cate Blanchett Sets Directorial Debut: Adaptation Of Herman Koch Novel 'The Dinner'". Deadline. Retrieved January 30, 2016.
  3. ↑ Barraclough, Leo (January 18, 2016). "Richard Gere, Steve Coogan, Laura Linney to Star in Oren Moverman's 'The Dinner'". Variety. Retrieved January 30, 2016.
  4. ↑ Kroll, Justin (January 19, 2016). "Charlie Plummer Joins Oren Moverman's 'The Dinner' (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. Retrieved January 31, 2016.
  5. ↑ Jaafar, Ali (17 February 2016). "Adepero Oduye Joins Cast Of Oren Moverman's 'The Dinner'- Berlin". Deadline. Retrieved 2016-03-16.
  6. ↑ Craig, Jon (January 25, 2016). "Westchester's Richard Gere Filming 'The Dinner' Along Hudson River". tarrytown.dailyvoice.com. Retrieved January 31, 2016.
  7. ↑ "On the Set for 1/22/16: Michael Fassbender Starts Shooting Universal's 'The Snowman', Antonio Banderas Wraps on 'Security'". SSN Insider. January 22, 2016. Archived from the original on February 5, 2017. Retrieved January 31, 2016.
  8. ↑ Chynoweth, Nicole (January 29, 2016). "Richard Gere films at Gettysburg hotel". flipsidepa.com. Retrieved January 31, 2016.
  9. ↑ D'Alessandro, Anthony (May 20, 2016). "The Orchard Orders Richard Gere Drama 'The Dinner' – Cannes". Deadline Hollywood . Retrieved May 20, 2016.
  10. ↑ Lodderhose, Diana (December 15, 2016). "Berlin Film Festival Unveils First Competition Pics & Berlinale Special Pics". Deadline Hollywood . Retrieved December 15, 2016.
  11. ↑ "The Dinner". Berlin International Film Festival . Retrieved January 30, 2017.
  12. ↑ "The Dinner". Tribeca Film Festival . Retrieved May 2, 2017.
  13. ↑ Cox, Gordon (March 2, 2017). "Tribeca Film Festival Unveils 2017 Feature Film Slate (Full List)". Variety. Retrieved May 2, 2017.
  14. ↑ N'Duka, Amanda (February 28, 2017). "'The Dinner' Trailer: Richard Gere & Steve Coogan 'Put It All on the Table'". Deadline Hollywood . Retrieved May 2, 2017.
  15. ↑ "The Dinner (2017)". Rotten Tomatoes . Fandango . Retrieved May 14, 2020.
  16. ↑ "The Dinner Reviews". Metacritic . CBS Interactive . Retrieved May 14, 2020.
  17. ↑ Gleiberman, Owen (February 10, 2017). "Berlin Film Review: 'The Dinner'". Variety . Retrieved May 2, 2017.
  18. ↑ Kohn, Eric (February 10, 2017). "'The Dinner' Review: Steve Coogan and Richard Gere Are Enraged Siblings in Oren Moverman's Intense Family Drama — Berlinale 2017". IndieWire . Retrieved May 2, 2017.
  19. ↑ van Hoeij, Boyd (February 10, 2017). "'The Dinner': Film Review". The Hollywood Reporter . Retrieved May 2, 2017.
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