Seducing Doctor Lewis

La grande séduction
Movie poster
Directed by	Jean-François Pouliot
Produced by	Roger Frappier Luc Vandal
Written by	Ken Scott
Starring	Raymond Bouchard David Boutin Benoit Brière Lucie Laurier
Music by	Francois-Pierre Lue Maxime Barzel Paul-Étienne Côté
Cinematography	Douglas Koch
Edited by	Dominique Fortin
Distributed by	Dogwoof Pictures (UK) Wellspring Media (USA)
Release dates	20 May 2003 (2003-05-20)
Running time	108 minutes
Country	Canada
Language	French
Box office	$12,587,032

Seducing Doctor Lewis (French: La grande séduction) is a 2003 Quebec comedy film and the first film directed by Jean-François Pouliot. The script was written by Ken Scott. It won the Audience Award at 2004 Sundance Film Festival. Starring in the movie are Raymond Bouchard, Benoit Brière, David Boutin and Lucie Laurier.

Plot

The tiny fishing village Ste-Marie-la-Mauderne on the north coast of Quebec is in decline. Every resident collects welfare. To lure a company into building a plastic container factory nearby, they need to double their population of 120, have a resident doctor, and give a $50,000 bribe for the company owner.

Montreal plastic surgeon Dr Christopher Lewis (David Boutin) gets pulled over for speeding by an officer originally from Ste-Marie-la-Mauderne. The officer will not arrest him for drug possession, if Dr Lewis will visit Ste-Marie-la-Mauderne for one month. In a deleted scene, Dr Lewis sells cocaine to his patients.

Mayor Germain Lesage (Raymond Bouchard) hatches a plan. The entire village will convince Dr Lewis to stay. They tap his phone, and pretend to share his likes: fishing, cricket, fusion jazz, all the same foods. A local banker leaves small amounts of money for Dr Lewis to find, and attempts to secure a loan for the bribe. Dr Lewis likes the beautiful post office worker Ève Beauchemin (Lucie Laurier), but Ève knows he has a girlfriend, Brigitte, in Montreal.

The ruse works, but they cannot secure a loan. Local banker Henri Giroux (Benoit Brière) fronts the money from his personal savings, after a bank executive calls him an ATM. When the company owner arrives, everyone continues their elaborate trick, and convinces him to build the a factory there. The owner is ready to sign, but insists that they must have a doctor.

When Dr Lewis learns that his Montreal girlfriend Brigitte has been having an affair with his best friend for three years, he proclaims that he will stay because everyone in the village is genuine. Germain feels bad for lying, confesses all, and explains that a doctor in residence would save the village. Dr Lewis decides to stay, the factory is built, Ste-Marie-la-Mauderne is saved, and everyone gains renewed pride.

Production

Producer Roger Frappier wanted to film Seducing Doctor Lewis in Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada but the film was eventually shot on an island with a population of about 300, Harrington Harbour, Quebec, Canada. The film's producers felt the island looked too pretty to fill the role of a fishing village experiencing hard times, so they worsened its appearance in the movie.

Awards

• Winner - Sundance Film Festival: World Cinema Audience Award Genie Award – Cinematography; Prix Jutra – Supporting Actor (Collin), Supporting Actress (Desrochers), Editing, Cinematography, Art Director, Sound and Costumes.

Remakes

Main article: The Grand Seduction

An English language remake was released in 2013, starring Taylor Kitsch as Dr Lewis with Brendan Gleeson, Mary Walsh, Cathy Jones, and Gordon Pinsent as town folks. The story's setting was moved to Newfoundland.

A French remake Un village presque parfait (English: An almost perfect village) produced by Stéphane Meunier, was released in 2015. The action takes place in a small imaginary Pyrenean village : Saint-Loin-la-Mauderne.

External links

• La grande séduction at IMDb

• Hornaday, Ann (July 30, 2004). "Hook, Line and Hoodwinkers". Washington Post (washingtonpost.com). Retrieved 03-06-2005.