Baba pretends to be a boy and a boy pretends to be a woman. This movie sounds like a disaster, and you can watch it with your mother

The idea for the plot of the comedy “In Your Place” may not be groundbreaking. Just Kasia and Krzysiek – two quarreling, frustrated spouses with a cute child, a dog she is allergic to and a ghostly mother-in-law – mysteriously switch bodies, which allows them to look at their problems from a new perspective. It has already been played many times, in different arrangements: mother and daughter, friend and friend, grandfather and grandson, sister and brother, friend and friend, attractive and vain teenager with a not very handsome robber, cocky businessman with a cat, etc.

How to replay an old theme?

There is also no need to lie to yourself, just as engineer Mamoń likes to listen to songs he already knows, so we as the audience like to be clear about what we are signing up for when we buy tickets. The new comedy from the TVN stable may not attract with its original concept, but – in my humble opinion – it stands out positively against the shapeless mass of genre films that have recently flooded our cinemas. Even the way it was told.

If I didn’t know that “In Your Place” is director Antonio Galdamez’s feature and full-length debut, I probably wouldn’t have guessed it. Because in the cinema I saw: a well-conducted intrigue, a well-chosen cast that plays with a nice comedic flair, but does not go to extremes or exaggeration. Added to this were well-placed dramatic accents, some proven jokes, nicely filmed nice interiors and well-dressed, but characteristic characters, quick editing and generally pleasant atmosphere. I am also surprised to note that despite the thread of supernatural body swapping, the whole thing also seemed quite close to reality, because the script actually unobtrusively and realistically shows various mechanisms and human behavior. In fact, it’s almost stupid for me to praise it so much, but nothing particularly bothered me or it didn’t last long.

From the preliminary information, let’s add that he spends hours in the office, and after work he seeks respite in solitude or having a beer with his colleagues, and she is overworked, feels frustrated and more and more lonely – she feels like a husband at all with her and her son at home in wasn’t there at all. She blames her husband for alienating himself, he resents her for criticizing him so much, complaining and holding grudges in general, plus she has a toxic mom. When we meet them, they’ve just come back from a very bad couples therapy session and are actually on the verge of a divorce. It is then that the bodies are switched, and the spouses necessarily exchange responsibilities, thanks to which they begin to understand the other side better and think more about their behavior.

It all sounds trivial, but the script and dialogues (written by Łukasz Światowiec and Anna Bielak) are pleasantly unpretentious, although at times the elements of the stereotypical idea of ​​​​the division into male and female features are a bit too strong.

I have a lot of appreciation for Paulina Gałązka and Miron Jagniewski who play the main roles, because they led their characters very well. They are the main burden of this film and they could put it the easiest way. As we know, Polish cabarets have been telling us for years that there is nothing funnier than a peasant pretending to be a woman and a woman pretending to be a peasant. So, assuming that a film is being made about exactly that, there was a high and real risk that we would get something like another sketch by Koń Polski cabaret. Meanwhile, the actors and the director managed to work out funny, satirically twisted, but also not exaggerated incarnations of their characters after the switch – at least me and my dear parent did not feel embarrassed, but amused. Because the humor was not in making fun of the stereotypical idea of ​​feminine or masculine behavior, but rather in reflecting how the spouses perceive each other. Perhaps the fact that Galdamez can be a very reflective person turned out to be helpful – before graduating from the Lodz film school, he studied philosophy. It can leave a mark on a person.

If I were you mat. press releases, Jaroslaw Sosiński

When Paulina Gałązka becomes Krzyś in Kasia’s body, she changes to a more hard face, tone of voice, posture and movements. Similarly, Miron Jagniewski suddenly has much more cordiality in his face, a certain shyness and greater sensitivity can be seen in his movements. I won’t say, I think I liked them even more in this swapped versions – but it’s not surprising, since that’s how we spent most of the movie.

The second and third plans are also very successful: Maria Pakulnis plays the best-knowing mother-in-law from hell, who gives both her daughter and her disliked son-in-law a hard time. The scene in which the film’s Kasia is pouring in her husband’s body and begins to score points for her mother’s behavior actually reflects the psychological truth or the probability of how such a mother can be tiring and toxic to the environment. Ms. Teresa was also a great partner in the film, who played a curator pushed on by her indignant mother. I will say more, my mother even regretted that there were no more scenes with their participation in the film.

I should also pass over the successful performance of Delfina Wilkońska, who plays Kasia’s best friend, because she had a lot of warmth, charisma and good energy. Also, who has an outstanding comedic talent (of which she clearly reminded in a series of films), here she had the opportunity to show herself from a different side. Her heroine is a bit vampy, intelligent and go-getting, although not necessarily reconciled with corporate chauvinism and the tendency to ignore her ideas, because she is an attractive woman. Oliver Grzegorzewski, who plays Tadzio, the son of the main characters, is also painfully charming.

What I like about “In Your Place” is that it very unobtrusively encourages you to reflect on how interpersonal relationships work out. There is no intrusive didacticism anywhere here, but there is, for example, a humorously outlined picture of how people and their behavior are perceived differently due to their gender, and how easy it is to judge someone badly and rush into hurtful judgments or not notice it, what’s going on in life. And all this without the tension and banal sentences from textbooks for self-improvement. The director nicely said it’s an “empathic film” and I think that’s pretty accurate. At the same time, nothing stands in the way of just going to watch it and having a little laugh. A nice change.

“In Your Place” in cinemas from January 6. At worst, you just won’t like it.