The 2013 Jeff Goldblum Hidden Gem You Probably Missed Is Now Free to Watch
Jeff Goldblum has appeared in a ton of movies that have become part of popular culture. While longtime fans know the actor for his roles in films like The Fly (1986), Jurassic Park (1993), and Independence Day (1996), his appearances in movies like Thor: Ragnarok (2017) and Jurassic World Dominion (2022) have introduced him to another generation of viewers.
However, not everything in Goldblum's filmography gets the same attention. One example is Le Week-End, the 2013 comedy-drama that is currently available to watch for free on JustWatchTV. The movie follows a married couple, Nick (Jim Broadbent) and Meg Burrows (Lindsay Duncan), who decide to spend their 30th wedding anniversary in Paris.
Nick planned the trip as a chance for them to reconnect, but things start going wrong almost immediately. Meg refuses to stay in the hotel Nick booked and convinces him to move to a more expensive one. The couple spends the weekend visiting restaurants and other parts of the city while arguing about money and what they want out of life.
But everything changes when Nick runs into Morgan (Jeff Goldblum), an old university friend who's become a successful writer. Morgan is wealthy, confident, and inadvertently brings Nick's biggest insecurities to the fore, but the movie remains focused on the couple rather than turning Goldblum's character into its main attraction.
'Le Week-End' Is a Story About the Complexities of Marriage
Le Week-End also doesn't have the kind of large-scale premise associated with many of Goldblum's better-known roles. Still, the film received strong reviews when it was released, with critics praising the performances of Broadbent and Duncan. So its lower profile has more to do with the kind of movie it is than the quality of the story.
The anniversary trip gives Le Week-End its setting, but the film is really about what happens when a long marriage reaches a point where a couple's usual routines start to disappear. Nick is facing forced early retirement from his job as a philosophy professor, while Meg is unhappy with teaching and is considering making some changes of her own.
Their adult son Michael (Olly Alexander) is a constant source of tension in the couple's relationship because Nick keeps leaving the door open for him to move back home. The other arguments between Nick and Meg aren't always about one specific problem because years of smaller frustrations and resentments exist just beneath the surface.
That's also why the Paris setting works better in the story than it might in a more conventional anniversary movie. Nick and Meg have temporarily escaped their normal routines, but the trip doesn't solve anything for them. Without their usual responsibilities around them, they have more time to think about the things they normally manage to avoid.
Le Week-End doesn't offer an easy answer about what Nick and Meg should do next. It's funny in places, uncomfortable in others, and occasionally sentimental, but it understands that a long relationship can contain several of those things at once. And Morgan's presence in the story serves as the catalyst for the couple finally facing their problems directly.
Jeff Goldblum Makes the Most of a Smaller Role in 'Le Week-End'
Goldblum's role in Le Week-End is different from many of the performances he's best known for. Morgan comes across as self-important and a little arrogant, but he isn't an exaggerated version of the actor's usual screen persona. Instead, Goldblum gets to play the character more naturally. That's part of what makes the movie worth seeing.
Morgan has enough personality to make an impression, but Goldblum never takes over the story. His scenes with Broadbent and Duncan work so well because he's playing a character with his own history and place in the friend group. The Hollywood Reporter praised the actor for giving the movie a "slyly amusing" performance that injects a different energy into the story.
That description is fitting because Morgan changes the tone of the scenes he's in without turning the movie into something different. Goldblum is also able to bring some of his natural screen presence to the role while still keeping Morgan believable as Nick's long-time friend. Variety had a similar take on the character, describing Morgan as generous but "completely self-absorbed."
Le Week-End also came at an interesting point in Goldblum's career. It was released between Morning Glory (2010) and The Grand Budapest Hotel (2014), several years before his return to major blockbusters. Morgan is a reminder that there are still lots of smaller roles in Goldblum's filmography that can get lost between the bigger movies.
