Junhee (Lee Hye-yeong), a novelist, visits the bookstore of her old friend, Sewon (Seo Younghwa), who used to be a novelist himself. She also interacts filmmaker friend, Park Hyo-jin (Kwon Hae-hyo), Later, at a park, she bumps into an actress, Kilsoo (Kim Min-Hee), who introduces her to a filmmaker, Gyeong-woo (Ha Seong-guk). Junhee wants to write a story for Gyeong-woo and Kilsoo to turn into a film.

      Writer/director Hong Sang-soo has a knack for writing nuanced and tender stories that somehow involve filmmakers and filmmaking. His films are laidback and more than the sum of their parts because there's not much of a plot, but a lot going in spite of that. In The Novelist's Film, he still hasn't lost that knack. The plot seems aimless on the surface, but there's substance beneath it, much like in Eric Rohmer's cerebral films. It's tempting to say that "nothing happens" since there's no action, no villains, no  loud arguments or big twists. This isn't the kind of movie that relies on twists, suspense or anything over-the-top. Like with most of his films, Hong Song-soo keeps everything understated and natural. He has a great ear for dialogue that sounds true-to-life. As Hitchock once wisely stated, some films are a slice-of-life while others are a slice-of-cake. There's very little cake in The Novelist's Film. It's mostly a slice-of-life that trusts your intelligence, patience and emotions. It gradually rewards your patience as you become more and more engrossed and enchanted with these characters who feel like fully-fleshed human beings. There are even some brief moments of comic relief that will surprise you, so there are, indeed, surprises, but they're small ones that you'll appreciate because they help the film to avoid turning monotonous and dry.

      All of the performances are natural and reflect the nuanced screenplay. It's also worth mentioning the mesmerizing black-and-white cinematography with a few instances of color toward the end. Those moments of color are a little surprising at first, but they're not distracting. The fact that he keeps the running time of less than 2 hours shows that he has restraint as a filmmaker. At a running time of 1 hour and 32 minutes, The Novelist's Film is wispy, nuanced and enchanting.

      Benjamin Boltanski (Benoît Magimel), acting teacher, has been diagnosed with terminal pancreatic cancer and hopes that Dr. Eddé (Gabriel A. Sara) can extend his life expectancy with chemotherapy. He eventually breaks the news to his mother, Crystal (Catherine Deneuve), but doesn't tell his acting students. Meanwhile, he befriends his kind nurse, Eugenie (Cecile de France) at the hospital, and reconnects with his ex-wife, Anna (Melissa George), and son, Léandre (Oscar Morgan), whom he's meeting for the first time.

      It's tempting to begin this review with the statement Peaceful is well-meaning, but...".That statement wouldn't be false, but aren't most if not all movies well-meaning? Peaceful tries to be heartfelt, tender and endearing tearjerker. However, the contrived screenplay by writer/director Emmanuelle Bercot and co-writer Marcia Romano turns the film into a maudlin tearjerker that tries too hard to hit the same sad notes over and over. Around the one-hour mark, it becomes exhausting and repetitive while giving the audience very little room to breathe with one tragedy after another. This is one of those movies where you can feel the wheels of the screenplay turning or the keys of the piano being struck every step of the way. Then there's the clunky introduction of Benjamin's son and ex-wife who live in New York ,and an even clunkier scene where the son travels to visit the hospital where Dr. Eddé converses with him outside as Benjamin happens to notice them through the window. The way that Bercot and Romano incorporate exposition into the narrative is very awkward while making the film overstuffed and undercooked simultaneously. There's little to no backstory about Dr. Eddé who has the hospital staff join him in a choir to sing joyful music. Where did Dr. Eddé find the inspiration to do that? What's his life like at home when he's not working? Crystal and Eugenie also come across as underdeveloped characters whose relationships with Benjamin fall flat on an emotional level. The stilted dialogue also doesn't help to breathe much-needed life into any of the characters.

      Even the charisma and heartfelt performances of Catherine Deneuve and Benoît Magimel and their heartfelt performances fail to rise above the weak, stilted screenplay. Too many scenes, especially during the second act in the hospital room, last too long after making its point over and over and over to the audience, so tighter editing would've helped tremendously. Less is more. There's nothing exceptional about the cinematography that adds any style to the film, so it's unfortunate that there's a lack of both style and substance here. At an overlong running time of 2 hours and 2 movies, Peaceful is as maudlin, contrived and heavy-handed as a Lifetime Disease-of-the-Week movie.

      In 1950s New York City, Suze (Andrea Riseborough) lives on the Lower East Side with her husband, Arthur (Harry Melling). One night, they witness a street gang called Young Gents commit murder in front of their apartment. That event ignites Suze's sexual urges and she begins a sexual awakening while her husband remains less keen on exploring her sexual adventures. He develops a crush on Teddy (Karl Glusman), a Young Gents gang member. Suzie befriends her neighbor, Maureen (Demi Moore), who opens her mind to her sexuality and to discover new ways to find sexual pleasure.

      In a year filled with movies that go bonkers, Please Baby Please is one of the most disappointing ones. The screenplay by writer/director Amanda Kramer and Noel David Taylor blends camp, sex, comedy, satire and drama with so much tonal unneveness that it might give you whiplash. Kramer and Taylor try too hard to be outrageous, bizarre and wacky while veering toward John Waters territory. However, the dialogue lacks razor-sharp wit and humor that make Waters' films such wickedly funny, entertaining guilty pleasures. The characters range from dull and forgettable to annoying like nails-on-a-chalkboard. The latter can be said about Suze; the former can be said about Arthur. None of the beats land, especially when the film tries hard to be funny. The desperate attempt to be over-the-top and anarchic is the equivalent of a pianist banging the piano over and over on the same notes. What ensues is a lot of tedium, noise, clunkiness and headache-inducing scenes that don't provoke the audience emotionally nor intellectually nor, most importantly, keep entertained enough. Eating Raoul is an example for a far superior sex comedity with much more bite, brilliance and laughs.Everything that Please Baby Please gets wrong, Eating Raoul gets right. Even Striptease with Demi Moore is funnier.  

      The performances are a mixed bag, but none of them truly stand out or rise above the weak screenplay. The set designs, lighting, music and use of color are stylish and add some atmosphere, but not nearly enough to hold the film together or to invigorate it. At a running time of 1 hour and 35 minutes, which feels more like 3 hours, Please Baby Please is witless, clunky and tedious with too much tonal whiplash and not nearly enough laughs to turn it into a campy cult classic.