AI Takes Over Filmmaking In Messy, Limited French Dark Comedy

Quentin Dupieux premiered his quirky comedy, The Second Act (Le Deuxième Acte), to a crowd of eager film lovers at the 77th Cannes Film Festival. The director continues to leverage the art of mise en abyme, where his characters are shooting a film within this feature and dissecting the state of the film industry. A highly restrained examination of multiple topics, The Second Act is a film about everything and nothing all at once. Perhaps in line with Dupieux’s style, the surreal, dark humor and commentary produce a messy end product that overstays its welcome.

Dupieux’s Quirky Script About Filmmaking Results In Only Occasional Laughs

There are plenty of laughs to be had throughout Dupieux’s odd feature, which often includes fourth wall bits and conventional discussions about an evolving film industry. This film stars Léa Seydoux, Vincent Lindon, Louis Garrel, and Raphaël Quenard as four actors shooting a third-rate movie at an isolated restaurant in the middle of nowhere. David (Garrel) and Willy (Quenard) are en route to meet Florence (Seydoux) when they hatch a plan to end David and Florence’s relationship because of her overwhelmingly clingy behavior. Florence, on the other hand, is preparing to introduce David to her father, Guillaume (Lindon).

Just as quickly as filming begins, so does the bickering — the quirky comedy aiming to poke fun at an evolving industry. Due to insensitive, improvised dialogue from Willy, David frequently interjects to prevent them both from getting canceled. (The cameras are still rolling, after all). Meanwhile, Guillaume is nearly ready to give up on acting altogether as he perceives the industry to be nearing its death. In The Second Act’s funniest scene, Stéphane (Manuel Guillot) can’t seem to put aside his nerves to serve as an extra when the plot moves along, delaying the film even further.

The Second Act Has Various Themes But Fails To Say Anything Profound

All together, these characters make up an interesting cast that exists to discuss various topics like cancel culture, the #MeToo movement, artificial intelligence in filmmaking, and mental health in the film industry. But with so many important topics, The Second Act ultimately fails to say much about them at all. Whether Dupieux intended to include these concepts in his script as a basis to poke fun at “wokeness” isn’t an issue. It’s the fact that it results in a cluttered story, during which the lines are blurred, and nothing profound comes of it.

My biggest gripe with this film, especially with its usage of mise en abyme, is Dupieux switching between the two worlds too quickly — and right when things become more interesting. He doesn’t let us digest the topics within each world long enough to care about what’s going on. Even at the turning point of the film within the film, whiplash is in full effect thanks to sudden shifts in reality. The resulting conflict feels like a last-minute addition meant to shock us instead of one intended to build tension and create important commentary.

Early scenes in The Second Act promised a quirky and funny dissection of the film industry. However, the hollow examinations of important themes render this French comedy an incomplete, muddled experiment that doesn’t know when to quit. To be frank, Dupieux’s latest had enormous potential but failed to dive deep into AI as it pertains to quality filmmaking. It’s as if an entire act was missing, and the humor overstayed its welcome. Even though the actors do all they can to reel us in, this is a film that wants to say everything without saying anything.