The easy way out is never as easy as it may seem, especially when the choice you need to make is life-changing not only for you, but others as well. Antoine struggles with his own life, and the life of his siblings who have their own problems. Antoine forgets about his own life while making suggestions to others on what to do and how to do it. Can someone like Antoine teach others how to live when he has his own issues in his life that require his full attention?
The Easy Way Out begins with Antoine, who we find crying before entering his house. Once in the house he goes straight to his bed, and he hugs someone, promising to make their life better. The film then takes us back in time, and shows to us the event that occurred that leads to Antoine crying… Antoine has lived with his partner, Adar, for over 10 years. It seems their relationship is no longer going smoothly, as Antoine sleeps on his air mattress due to his ‘bad back’ issue.
As the film progresses, we find Antoine`s family members facing their own drama. While Antoine is trying to decide whether to settle down and accept his lover`s offer to buy a house, his brother Gerard is about to get a divorce. While the parents are getting ready for Louis`s wedding with Julie, the groom is spending his time with his girlfriend in Brussel; his fiancé waits for him in Paris not knowing that Louis has no intention of marrying her.
Brice Cauvin offers a very intriguing and realistic point of view of how a family deals with their problems, and how you should forget about others and deal with your own bigger issues. This can be heard many times in a few scenes, where there is always someone who tells Antoine to stop worrying about others and think of his own life. Seeing Antoine`s character, we find him to be a person who tries to find a compromise to get through problems without looking for an easy way out.
The Easy Way Out is made for a certain type of person. Someone who will understand the inner problems of Antoine and give him credit for all his attempts to put his family first. This film is totally based on dialogues, discussions, and the performance of the actors who seem to enjoy being in the shoes of their characters. But more importantly, this film carries an important message we all must never forget; there is always a way to escape a problem, but to find a solution is all that makes it possible head in the right direction. But, in the end, us, and those who stand beside us, are the ones who will give us the opportunity to look at our life from a different perspective; to help us observe it in a way that will allow us to find a way out, not to run away, but to open a new chapter of our life… a life, that may still be uncertain… but full of pleasant surprises…
The Easy Way Out will conclude the CINEFRANCO Film festival which entertained Torontonians with the highest quality films from French speaking countries. Brice Cauvin is going to attend the screening, and most likely will have Q&A as well. If you happen to be in Toronto, make your way to Bloor Hot Docs to see, or ask some questions of the director afterwards.