# Thirst Street

Thirst Street is a 2017 black comedy film directed by American filmmaker Nathan Silver, from a screenplay by Silver and C. Mason Wells. Co-produced by American and French companies, and featuring American and French actors, it is set in Paris. It stars Lindsay Burdge, Damien Bonnard, Esther Garrel, Lola Bessis, Jacques Nolot, Françoise Lebrun, Cindy Silver, Valerie Laury, and Anjelica Huston. The film is about an American woman who falls in love with a French man after a one-night stand. She decides to doggedly pursue him despite his lack of interest. It includes portions in both English and French.
Thirst Street had its world premiere in New York at the Tribeca Film Festival on April 21, 2017. It was released in the United States on September 20, 2017, by Samuel Goldwyn Films, and on July 25, 2018 in France by Stray Dogs.

## Plot

Gina (Lindsay Burdge) is an American flight attendant in her mid-30s who is still coming to terms with the suicide of her boyfriend (played in flashbacks by Damien Bonnard). During a layover in Paris, she and two of her co-workers head toward a recommended cabaret but find it to be a strip club. There she meets the manager, Jérôme (Bonnard); she is drawn to him in part because of his resemblance to her late boyfriend. The two have a one-night stand, and she goes back the next day. The two have sex again.
On a whim, Gina decides to quit her job, move to Paris, and get an apartment across the street from Jerome's; she also gets a job as a waitress at the strip club, all in an attempt to start a relationship with Jerome. Jerome shows growing discomfort with her. He rekindles a relationship with his on-again, off-again girlfriend, Clémence, a rock singer, and eventually proposes to her.
Depressed, Gina stops paying her rent checks or going to work, and loses both her apartment and job. She decides to devote herself full-time to getting together with Jerome, and lies to him that she is pregnant with his child. After finding out the truth, Jerome runs away from Gina, bolting into the street where he is hit by a car, ending up in a coma. Gina tells the people at the hospital that she is Jerome's fiancée. They give her his possessions, including the engagement ring he bought for Clémence, which Gina proudly wears.

## Cast

* Lindsay Burdge as Gina
* Damien Bonnard as Jerome
* Esther Garrel as Clémence
* Lola Bessis as Charlie
* Jacques Nolot as Franz
* Françoise Lebrun as Landlady
* Cindy Silver as Lorraine
* Valerie Laury as Faye
* Alice de Lencquesaing as Sophie
* Anjelica Huston as Narrator

## Production

In May 2016, it was announced Lindsay Burdge, Damien Bonnard, Lola Bessis, Alice de Lencquesaing and Cindy Silver joined the cast of the film, with Nathan Silver directing the film from a screenplay he co-wrote with C. Mason Wells, a frequent collaborator. Producers were announced as Claire-Charles Gervais, Katie Stern, Ruben Amar, Lola Bessis, Josh Mandel, and Matthew Edward Ellison, will serve as producers on the film, but some changed before it was completed. In March 2017, it was announced Anjelica Huston would narrate the film.

## Release

The film had its world premiere at the Tribeca Film Festival on April 21, 2017. Shortly after, Samuel Goldwyn Films acquired distribution rights to the film. It was released on September 20, 2017 in the United States, and July 25, 2018 in France.

### Critical reception

Thirst Street received positive reviews from film critics. It holds a 75% approval rating on review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, based on 6 reviews, with a weighted average of 9/10.
Joule Zelman of "The Stranger wrote, "But [Lindsay] Burdge plays Gina as a devastated, rootless woman rather than male paranoia given flesh. Somehow, her acting combines with cinematography straight from an artsy 1970s porno and a soundtrack of woozy love songs to create an expressionist portrait of overwhelming loneliness."