Crazy In Love - French Style (He Loves Me, He Loves Me Not (DVD))

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Product:	He Loves Me, He Loves Me Not (DVD)
Date:	08/09/06 (141 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Much more complex and unusual than meets the eye

Disadvantages: The first half an hour is a bit boring

A La Folie… Pas Du Tout (He Loves Me, He Loves Me Not) is a French romantic thriller, starring Audrey Tautou. You know, from Amélie and The Da Vinci Code. That might have got you interested, but it might also have you running a mile. Each to their own. But let me tell you: it's a little bit different from the norm, and it's actually quite good.

Audrey Tautou plays Angélique, a young art student who has just received a contract for her work to be displayed in public; and she is also madly in love. It all sounds pretty rosy so far, non? However, the man she loves is actually a 36-year old cardiologist, Loïc (played by Samuel Le Bihan), and he has a pregnant wife. She sees him all the time because she's living right next door to him while she looks after the house of a woman on holiday. This only strengthens her infatuation, and when it becomes clear that Loïc has no interest in her, this does not deter her. Instead, she becomes increasingly scary, and goes to extreme lengths to win him for herself.

This may sound a bit clichéd and a bit too ITV-two-part-drama for your liking. And to be honest, you're quite right. For the first half hour, Angéline's fall into stalker-ness is fairly predictable and a little bit snoresville, Arizona. Not a lot happens. It's still alright and perfectly watchable: Audrey Tautou is as luminescent as ever, with her cheeky little smile, but also shows that she can portray a character's sinister side just as well as their lovable one. There's also some nice metaphorical flower-drooping as petals fall off a plant she's supposed to be looking after (hence the title, based on the child's game). It's just that I'd like to see something a bit more exciting and original.

JUST TO LET YOU KNOW, THIS NEXT PARAGRAPH CONTAINS A SPOILER. IT DOESN'T REALLY AFFECT THE PLOT, BUT IT'S A SURPRISE WHICH YOU MAY NOT WANT TO KNOW IF YOU PLAN ON WATCHING THIS.


Then suddenly, as if the film had read my mind, on about 40 minutes it does something completely unexpected. After reaching the conclusion of the tale ("hmm… a bit short", I was thinking), the film suddenly stops, starts playing backwards, then rewinds itself right to the very first scene. For a minute I thought I'd accidentally pressed my remote, then I realised it was just a clever cinematic trick by Director Laetitia Colombani. So, we're back to the beginning. What's going to happen next? From this point of the film onwards, the film switches perspective and looks at the story from the perspective of Loïc. This in itself isn't a particularly extraordinary technique; it's been done loads of times before. However, it's done really well, since it goes all the way back through the original story, filling in little gaps, and making sense of it from the view of Loïc. Suddenly, the smallest of events takes on a new meaning, and we begin to see that the story is not as simple as it first seemed.


OK, YOU CAN START READING AGAIN

If you don't want to read that last paragraph, you can have this short, ambiguous summary: the second half is better than the first.

While we're on the summary of twists and surprises that you probably wouldn't want me to tell you, the ending is really good. It's not exactly a twist that turns the whole film on its head, but it makes you think, it's nicely shot, and it's a little bit creepy. Plus I didn't see it coming.

The whole feel of the film is nicely French; a little bit stereotypical perhaps, but not in your face. Just enough to make you think "aha, we're in France" (it's set in Bordeaux if you're wondering). The film is nicely filmed, and it all looks quite beautiful, although really it's not about visuals, it's about the characters and the shifts in their mental states/ their increasing paranoia. To tell the truth, if you're looking for film noir, this isn't it. He Loves Me, He Loves Me Not is probably the most pleasant and upbeat stalker thriller I've ever come across.

The director, Laetitia Colombani, may be someone to look out for in future, since this is her film debut as the French say, and it's good. She made a short film before this, and she's made a few more since this, but no other full-length movies. She clearly has a few twists up her sleeve, and is willing to subvert and combine familiar storylines. If you like romantic comedies, psychological thrillers or French cinema (or all three, though I doubt there are many who can boast that), you should like He Loves Me, He Loves Me Not.
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The single disc DVD is available to purchase online for £5.99, from www.blahdvd.com.

Directed by: Laetitia Colombani

Running Time: 95 minutes

Starring:

Audrey Tautou … Angélique
Samuel Le Bihan … Loïc
Isabelle Carré … Rachel
Clément Sibony … David
Sophie Guillemin … Héloïse
Eric Savin … Julien

Classification: 12 (for "thematic elements and some obsessive behaviour" apparently)

Year: 2002

My Rating: 4 stars

Summary: An intruiging French film