Fake Accents

Rating: Null/10 (12 September 2004)

Kudos to Hugo Weaving for a consistently threatening and sinister American accent. Not just in this film, but in all the Matrix films.
But what happened with Merovingian? Lambert Wilson, though well-cast from a personality POV, has a most annoying fake French accent. It's unnatural, forced and distracting. And it weakens the impact of this otherwise sinister character. 'Zuh' for 'the'? The French don't talk that way. Peter Sellers as Inspector Clouseau doesn't even talk that way!
Why wouldn't Casting have made the effort to find someone with an authentic accent? Accents are used to good effect in these films. The Twins are played by English actors, and they have fun with their lines. Persephone is more natural sounding, and she's Italian! Her authentic accent makes her exotic and mysterious. Merovingian, on the other hand, just sounds like the voice-over on a cheap French-restaurant commercial.