Suspended Time Review: Oliver Assayas Merges Interests and Personal Experience in Lighthearted Comedy

      Note: This review was initially published as part of our coverage for the 2024 Berlinale. Suspended Time will be released in theaters on August 15.

      The memes serve as a reminder that 2019 was five years ago. That year also marked the debut of Olivier Assayas’ Wasp Network, a peculiar return to the territory of his TV series Carlos, later picked up by Netflix during the Narcos period. It was Assayas' last feature, resulting in the longest gap of his 38-year career (aside from Irma Vep for HBO). This week, the skilled director returns to the Berlinale with Suspended Time, a personal essay wrapped in a seamless comedy that shows no evidence of a lengthy development process.

      This timing is, of course, advantageous. Vincent Macaigne, who takes on both the lead role and, yet again, serves as a stand-in for the director, plays Paul, a filmmaker navigating the summer of 2020 alongside his music-journalist brother Ettienne (Micha Lescot) and their new partners, Morgane (Nine d’Urso, strikingly beautiful and refined) and Carole (Nora Hamzawi, another collaborator of Assayas), in the comfortable setting of their childhood home. To pass the time, they engage in conversations about films and books, share memories of past living arrangements, enjoy Ettienne's numerous crepes, play tennis, and tackle odd tasks around the house (including a recurring gag involving a saucepan). Ettienne runs an online radio show, where we see him dedicate an episode to the Stranglers keyboardist Dave Greenfield, who succumbed to COVID that summer. Paul occasionally escapes to the trees for Zoom calls with his therapist (Dominique Reymond), and at other times retreats to his room to chat with his daughter and ex-wife (played by Maud Wyler, who bears a striking resemblance to someone notable). The film maintains a relaxed pace throughout its 105-minute runtime, rarely shifting into higher gear.

      Assayas, who has previously infused his career with quick-witted, self-aware comedies centered around sophisticated themes, has seldom ventured so close to his own life. Suspended Time (which the director describes in promotional materials as a “truthful, let's say documentary version” of his 2008 film Summer Hours) begins with still shots of his childhood home and its surroundings, honing in on details that evoke a sense of early autumn nostalgia. In voiceover, he shares dry observations about the unattractiveness of his father's chair and how the roots of an old tree have intertwined with the pathway. The film repeatedly returns to this essayistic style, incorporating still images of art (similar to those in Personal Shopper). In a particular moment, Assayas reflects on the ability of film to depict nature (captured beautifully by the esteemed Éric Gautier) while showcasing a David Hockney iPad sketch alongside some later Monets of the Seine.

      Assayas transitions effortlessly between his digressions and the main narrative, perhaps aided by the charming, magnetic presence of Macaigne—an actor who has successfully made receding hairlines appealing for over a decade. In Suspended Time, he voices Assayas' admiration for Once Upon a Time… In Hollywood and Bob Dylan’s remarkable “Murder Most Foul” with an energetic enthusiasm reminiscent of why audiences fell in love with him in Mia Hansen-Løve’s Eden—where he delivered a mini-lecture on the merits of Showgirls long before it was widely recognized. As Paul, he convincingly portrays the somewhat age-discrepant romance with d’Urso’s Morgane, and Assayas nearly allows them to conclude their story on a romantic note, only to lead us into a bittersweet epilogue. A delightful cameo from the young actress playing Paul’s daughter adds depth to a film where the director’s passions and personal history feel integral rather than superficial. It’s wonderful to see him return.

      Suspended Time premiered at the 2024 Berlinale.