FINAL SET /CINQUIEME SET
France, 2020, 105 minutes, Colour.
Alex Lutz, Ana Girardot, Kristin Scott Thomas.
Directed by Quentin Reynaud.
From the title, it is no surprise to realise that this is a tennis film. And, for those who are tennis fans, quite a deal to enjoy. And, for those who are not tennis fans, this is a drama about ambition, seeming failure, disappointment, rekindled hopes and…
At the centre of this story is a 37-year-old veteran tennis player, with the unusual French name of Thomas J. Edison. His played with quite some intensity by Alex Lutz. We quickly learn that he had a disastrous match in 2001, injury, failure, a disappointment to the public because he was an emerging French hero of the tennis court. In 2019, there is another 17-year-old tennis player whom the crowds are hailing, Damien Thosso.
Edison is very conscious of the injuries to his knee and leg, able to analyse x-rays with great accuracy to his doctor. But, he wants to play again, to make a comeback, able to list a variety of players who achieved success and rank in their 30s, including Jimmy Connors. Is it possible? And, what of his devoted wife, a former tennis player who played for clubs, Eve (Ana Girardot) but who has sacrificed a lot of her life staying at home with the young son, Gaspard. With the seeming termination of his tennis career insight, Eve is hoping to start a course on Sports Management, something for herself.
And, at first in the background, then coming into the foreground, Edison’s mother, as they say, formidable. And, as played by Kristin Scott Thomas, this is not just a mother-role, this is a mother with dominant influence, coaching him in the past, disappointed in his failure, wondering about his mental stamina for success. And, she is not afraid to voice her opinions. Towards the end of the film, there is a strong sequence, a frank exchange between mother and son, an opportunity for the son to express his frustrations, his disappointments, his driving hopes.
Edison is able to participate in the qualifying rounds for the French Open. He participates in a number of rounds – some scenes of playing, some focus on the scoreboard, some of the aftermath, especially with his injuries and the blood coming from his hand.
There is quite some drama about Edison, his attitudes, his moods (even with his good friend who trains him), and the issue of possibilities for further tournaments and the offer of a commercial contract for advertising.
The title indicates that there will be five sets – and this is in the first round of the French Open, and his draw is against the up-and-coming Damien Thosso. Needless to say, it will be something of a marathon – and this is where the film incorperates quite a number of serves, rallies, glancing shots, crowd enthusiasm, physical strain.
And, if this is what the audience would want, Final Set, the fifth set, certainly supplies it.
1. Title? A tennis film? Players, training, ambitions? Match scenes?
2. The French setting, French tennis players, contemporary references, tennis players of the past? The French Open?
3. Paris, ordinary homes, tennis courts, training, play? Changing rooms? Atmosphere? Musical score?
4. The story of Thomas J. Edison, age 37, his career, collapse, the long gap and professional playing, ambition to move into competitive tennis again? The background of his childhood, training, the influence of his mother, her coaching, her opinion, that he did not have a competitive mindset? Teenage, French champion, acclaim? The collapse, his defeat? 18 years passing? His decision to make a comeback? To play in the qualifying matches? To get into the French Open? His list of players who achieved in their 30s?
5. Edison and his character, accusations of being self-absorbed, his marriage, relationship with Eve, the years, his love for Gaspard? Domestic sequences? His visit to the doctor, the x-rays, his accurate analysis of what was wrong with his knees, arthritis…? His decision to go ahead? Tending his knee, his leg, his hands, the blood? His friend and the scenes of training?
6. Eve, her character, former tennis player, for the clubs? Her marriage, love for Edison? Love for their son? Sacrificing herself, home duties? Her wanting to study, Sports Management? Edison and his promises, about to break them? The clash with him, wanting to walk out with their son? Yet attending the matches, supporting him?
7. Edison’s mother, Kristin Scott Thomas’ character, strong, strong-minded, her past and coaching her son, her estimation him, his defeat, her inability to support him after that? The visits, the meals, love for her grandson? The discussions with her son, Frank, his accusations against her, her saying she was sorry? Her being present at the match in the French Open? Sympathy?
8. The up-and-coming tennis player, Damien Thosso, age 17, the crowds, his skills, the posters, advertising, television? The draw to play Edison? The details of the match, their respective skills? Thosso and his upset, smashing rackets…?
9. Edison and his social life, friends, Gaspard’s birthday party? The driver and the betting against him? His moodiness? The approach for the commercial contract, the social, the effect on Eve?
10. The inclusion of the qualifying matches throughout the film, the excerpts, the scores, the impact on Edison, physical, the blood, the showers, his knee? The French Open match, the tension, the detail of the play?
11. A film for tennis fans – but for those interested in a drama about a man and his ambitions, their being thwarted, the drive to achieve some ambitions, exertion, failure?
