A Priceless Litte Gem (Priceless (DVD))

Member Name: Mildew82

Product:	Priceless (DVD)
Date:	02/08/09 (104 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Stylish, realistic, funny and fantastically acted

Disadvantages: Not in the league of Breakfast at Tiffany's

As a connoisseur of foreign films (okay wannabe connoisseur) I have found the French production line a good source of quality films, from Tell No One to The Page Turner or Hidden to Amelie these films rely on great dialogue and clever and twisting plotlines to deliver exceptionally compelling films.

Okay, I guess we're only going to get the very best of the French films imported into this country (an equivalent of Alien V. Predator in the form of Giant Snail V. Giant Frog seems a little unlikely to make its way over the English Channel) but this just made it all the more likely that a quaint looking little French film I stumbled across for just £3 in HMV would continue in the same vein as all the aforementioned predecessors.

This film is called Priceless, and stars the fantastic Audrey Tautou, who has shown herself to be extremely talented, probably most famously in Amelie (2001), and has even broken through into a few English films, notably Dirty Pretty Things (2002) and The Da Vinci Code (2006). Sadly, my failings as a French film connoisseur become horribly evident now as I know none of the other cast, but the lead male role is played by the dashing and equally talented Gad Elmaleh.


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The Cast
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Audrey Tautou - Irène
Gad Elmaleh - Jean
Marie-Christine Adam - Madeleine
Vernon Dobtcheff - Jacques
Jacques Spiesser - Gilles
Annelise Hesme - Agnès


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The Plot

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Jean (Gad Elmaleh) is a lowly bartender at a high class hotel seemingly meandering through life, when through a series of events becomes mistaken as a millionaire by the beautiful and chic Irene. Whilst celebrating her birthday they have a one night stand before Irene leaves with the man she was staying with. But one year later, Irene is back at the hotel once again for her birthday, with the same man (soon to be her fiancé) and unable to resist each other, the affair starts up again.

But it turns out Irene is a nothing but an opportunist who spends her life seducing rich men to have an easy life, and this little indiscretion with Jean is discovered by her fiancé, and with the engagement broken off she abandons Jean. But Jean is so enamoured with Irene that he will stop at nothing to win her back - eventually leading him to become embroiled in her world as a gigolo.

Will Irene turn her back on a life of luxury, comfort and money for true love, or will the allure be too strong causing Jean to lose her forever?

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What is the 'je ne sais quoi' of Priceless?

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Priceless is in essence just a fun, sexy romantic comedy, but for me is far superior than the constant stream that Hollywood has to offer. The comedy in this film was derived from the banter between the main characters and amusing insights into the world of gold-diggers and not just silly, contrived situations and slapstick moments often used by Hollywood which provides this film with a lot more depth than you'd expect from a rom-com. There were genuine laugh out loud moments in this film, as well as some more serious and touching moments which left me utterly charmed by this movie.

The acting of both Audrey Tautou and Gad Elmaleh were excellent in this film, with some great on-screen chemistry and real depth to their characters which leaves you rooting for them all the way. Audrey Tautou pulls off the chic and seductive, yet scheming and manipulative Irene to perfection, whilst tantalising you with her obvious desires for something more real and Gad Elmaleh portrays the shy, cute and lonely bartender on a journey of self discovery on a quest to win the heart of the woman he loves.

Jean's love for Irene is evident throughout the film with his willingness to do anything for her even if it costs him, and for me this adds to the realism of the film - the fact that the relationship between Jean and Irene develop at a gradual pace and not the usual 2 days before undying love is declared with some epic and massively public gesture in the usual rom-coms just adds extra class to this film.

This film was beautifully made and directed by Pierre Salvadori with the French Riviera as the backdrop to the film and with some stunning film locations such as Monaco, Monte-Carlo and Alpes-Maritimes in Nice the incredible landscapes and amazing Mediterranean vistas made this a truly stylish film.

This film has been compared to the quintessential romantic masterpiece Breakfast at Tiffany's and with some justification. With Holly Golightly (played by the beautiful, chic and extremely talented Audrey Hepburn - sounds like she could have been French in another life) as the socialite looking for a wealthy sugar-daddy and Paul Varjak (George Peppard) as the poor and struggling writer who finds himself falling for Holly Golightly the parallels are undeniable.

However, the characters in Priceless are a little less complicated than those in Breakfast at Tiffany's and Priceless is a lot more light hearted so a direct comparison with such a huge film as Breakfast at Tiffany's is a little unfair and would be very unflattering for Priceless, so simply placing Priceless in the same category as Breakfast at Tiffany's is probably more representative.


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DVD Special Features

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Making Of
Deleted Scenes
Behind the Scenes
Original Theatrical Trailer

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Conclusion

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Priceless is a fun and sexy romantic comedy, with a sweet love story at the heart of it which is essential for all romantic comedies. While Priceless is never going to be an award winning masterpiece, the depth of the characters and overall class and beauty of the film gives it an edge over most Hollywood offerings and with some fabulous performances from the leading stars Priceless was simply a great film from start to finish.

If you are a fan of romantic comedies and especially liked Breakfast at Tiffany's you will love Priceless.

Summary: A romantic comedy of the highest calibre, genuinelly funny and totally rivetting