Camille redouble (2012)
Directed by Noémie Lvovsky

Film Review

"The Moving Finger writes; and, having writ, Moves on: nor all thy Piety nor Wit, Shall lure it back to cancel half a Line..."  Well, that was before they invented Tipp-Ex.  What if you could live your life again: would it be possible to change anything, or are we condemned to follow exactly the same path?  This is the existential jumping off point for Noémie Lvovsky's latest crowdpleasing comedy-drama, a time-reversing entertainment that feels uncannily like a Proustian reinterpretation of Francis Ford Coppola's Peggy Sue got married (1986) - À la recherche du temps perdu, the teen comedy version.

Lvovsky is one of a depressingly small minority of talented auteur filmmakers who have acquired a mainstream following in France.  She made her feature debut as a director with Oublie-moi (1994) and has since pursued a successful parallel career as an actress and filmmaker.  Camille Redouble (a.k.a. Camille Rewinds) is her fifth full-length film, and the first in which she appears in front of the camera, in the lead role, playing both the middle-aged and teenage version of the same character.  Lvovsky not only has a natural flair for comedy (as a writer, director and actress), she also has a talent for observation and a well-developed understanding of human nature, so her films are remarkably true to life and emotionally engaging, as well as effortlessly amusing.  Camille Redouble is no exception - a more than worthy follow-up to her last film, Faut que ça danse!, a bitter-sweet study in resisting the ravages of time.

Camille Redouble derives much of its humour from the fact that its heroine is transported back to her teenage past (in the hideously tasteless 1980s) as her 40-year-old self.  No one seems to notice this in the film, and this discrepancy allows for some great comedy.  More impressive, however, are the film's more melancholic asides, which Lvovsky manages to fit in effortlessly between the comic excursions.  Camille's attempts to alter her past and sidestep future heartache become increasingly poignant, particularly when she tries to save her mother from an early death.  If the film tells us anything it is that we can never change out past; all we can do is view it from a slightly different perspective, to see things in perhaps a more positive light.  Omar Khayyám had the right idea but what he missed was the subjective angle and the capacity for the human mind to reinterpret the past.

Once again, Noémie Lvovsky assembles a supremely talented cast which more than does justice to her intelligent screenplay.  Samir Guesmi, an increasingly sought after actor, is perfect for the role of Lvovsky's on-screen lover, and does a slightly better job of delineating his (gauche) younger self from his (odious) older self than his co-star.  Rising star Judith Chemla is an absolute delight as Lvovsky's outgoing teen school chum whilst Yolande Moreau is an instant attention grabber as Camille's ill-fated mum.  Denis Podalydès, a welcome addition to any castlist, makes the most of his relatively minor role and Jean-Pierre Léaud momentarily steals the film (as only he can) in a cameo appearance as a mysterious clockmaker with a sideline in sententious philosophising - how appropriate that he, the actor who inspires so many fond memories, should play the role of Proust's madeleine.   Wise and witty, Camille Redouble is one of the most satisfying of Noémie Lvovsky's films so far, a meditation on the metaphysical that is guaranteed to make you laugh.

Film Synopsis

Camille, a 40-something actress, gets an unexpected shock when she returns home one day to find her husband Eric packing his bags.  After twenty years of married life he has decided to leave her and move in with a woman half her age.  Devastated by this rejection, Camille gladly accepts an offer from her friend Josepha to join her in a New Year's Eve booze up.  The abandoned woman is soon too drunk to care about anything and on the stroke of midnight she is happily away in the Land of Nod.

When Camille comes to her senses she is surprised to find that she is no longer forty but sweet sixteen - and reliving her adolescence all over again.  She meets a boy of her own age called Eric and it seems that her whole life is repeating itself, leading no doubt to the same miserable outcome twenty years hence.  Should Camille allow this to happen, or should she resist and force herself to go down a different path, one that might have a much happier ending?  As she quickly discovers, choosing your destiny isn't as straightforward as it might seem...