Beau fixe (1992) - film review

A young medical student, Valérie, invites her friends, Armelle, Frédérique et Carine, to study with her in her family villa at the coastal resort of Saint-Palais-sur-Mer.  All is well until Valérie’s cousin, Francis, turns up to paint the house’s shutters.  Francis’ unwelcome presence distracts the four girls and prevents them from studying.  Despite a spirited attempt to gain their friendship, Francis finds himself on the receiving end of their cruel sense of humour.

This sunny portrait of a group of young people trying (and failing) to live together in harmony has some entertaining moments but is hampered by noticeable scripting deficiencies and less than perfect acting.  The plot generally lacks interest value (what could be more riveting than a film featuring four immature girls studying for their medicine exams?), and, although the characters are quite well developed, you are left with the sense that this is a somewhat superficial view of how young people behave.

The main problem with the film is that it relies too heavily on its young cast of relatively inexperienced actors, none of whom appears particularly sympathetic to the audience.  Indeed, until hunky odd-job man Francis (the main male character) appears on the scene, the film is painfully dull, and is even duller when he leaves the picture.

Christian Vincent’s films are typical of the French films d’auteur, and whilst Beau fixe may not be the best example, it still shows his talent for observation and capturing interactions between people in a strikingly naturalistic way.

© James Travers 2002

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