My dinner with Andre

Based on the friendship of two real-life friends, actor Wallace Shawn and theatre director Andre Gregory, this surprisingly rivetting film consists mostly of a conversation. Dining out in an exclusive New York City restaurant, at the beginning, Shawn, like the viewer, is content to listen to Gregory’s astounding stories about experimental performance and rituals throughout the globe. For Andre, the mystical traditions of spirituality offer an optimism and integral meaning no longer possible in Western culture. The actor’s scepticism cannot be contained. By the time of the dessert he is countering Gregory’s insistence on the moral authority of spiritual cultures and making a defiant claim for the veracity and meaning of everyday urban culture. Reflecting the differing arguments at the centre of contemporary theatre - what is the function of performance; what is reality; does theatre (and Western philosophy in general) have a future - the conversation between the friends is stimulating, provocative and ultimately tender. This elegiac film, with a cast of two, filmed largely on one set, is a testament to Louis Malle’s refinement of the craft and artistry of filmmaking. Ultimately, however, the lasting treat of this film is how in restoring conversation and dialogue to the centre of philosophical speculation, it reinvigorates the ancient and consistent priorities of dialogue and argument.