Jean-Francois Laguionie's THE PAINTING
Review by Dennis McDonald
The Painting is simultaneously charming, enchanting, and entertaining. A group of characters in a painting are involved in a class struggle:
- At the top of the pyramid are the people the painter has finished, the “all-dones.” They live a gracious and courtly life in an elegant castle-like environment.
- In the middle are characters who are “half-done.” Perhaps a feature is missing here or there but for the most part what is missing is only a final coloring.
- At the bottom are the put-upon and discriminated-against “sketchies” who have full movement but only exist as groups of indistinct or incomplete outline drawings.
A social conflict arises from a forbidden love affair between an “all done” and a “half done.” At first I thought to myself, “Uh-oh, we’re in for another heavy handed parable about racial or social intolerance.”
What actually ensues is much more entertaining and clever. Some of the characters escape from the painting to search for the painter to “finish the painting”. What follows is a clever, sometimes charming, and very entertaining series of adventures, all involving different painting styles and interesting characters. It’s fun!
Review copyright © 2014 by Dennis D. McDonald
