Vincent Lindon plays a father helpless in the face of his son’s drift towards the far-right in the latest film by Muriel and Delphine Coulin, in theaters on January 22.
Play with fire is a drama directed by Muriel and Delphine Coulin released on January 22, 2025. It is the adaptation of the novel What you need at nightwritten by Laurent Petitmangin and acclaimed upon its release. The public discovers Vincent Lindon in the guise of an overhead line worker for the Lorraine railways, who helplessly witnesses his son’s drift towards the far right. The film then questions the dissensions of family love: how far can filial love go?
Critics are quite unanimous on the quality of interpretation of Play with fire. Vincent Lindon notably won the male actor prize at the last Venice Film Festival. It is “upsetting” according to the JDD and TF1When franceinfo praises “an excellent trio of actors” including Benjamin Voisin (Summer 85, Lost Illusions) and Stefan Crepon (Peter von Kant), who embody the two sons who are completely opposed.
Critics also praise the directors’ ability to “find the balance between realism and empathy” (Sud Ouest) or “the effectiveness of the dialogues” (The World) of a “social and political drama in keeping with the times” (Allocinated). The “tense and sober staging” of Muriel and Delphine Coulin results in a film which “dissects with finesse a family breakdown” according to Three Colors. But some, like Firstpoint out certain weaknesses in the film, such as its “a little academic” side, “petrified by the civic mission that it has set itself – and which risks preaching only to the convinced”.
Synopsis – Pierre raises his two sons alone. Louis, the youngest, succeeds in his studies and advances easily in life. Fus, the eldest, drifts away. Fascinated by violence and the balance of power, he became closer to far-right groups, the opposite of his father’s values. Pierre witnesses helplessly the influence of these associations on his son. Little by little, love gives way to incomprehension…