Épouse-moi (2000) - film review

With her marriage faltering, Oriane turns to a fortune teller, Bodel, to help her.  He offers her a vision of the future where her husband, Hadrien, leaves her to pursue an affair with Marie-Ange, the woman of a man whose life he failed to save whilst climbing the Eiffel Tower.  Oriane insists on a happier outcome and Bodel obliges: this time it is she that leaves her husband to marry the man whose life he saved.  Rejecting this vision as well, Oriane takes matters into her own hands in a desperate bid to save her marriage.

Épouse-moi marks a promising directorial debut for Harriet Marin – a light romantic comedy with an unusual narrative structure, some quirky humour and a solid performance from the delightful Michèle Laroque.  This is the kind of film which will appeal far more to non-French than to French audiences, since it offers the kind of sugary romantic fantasy which tends to enchant foreign audiences whilst leaving most French spectators singularly unimpressed.  It is certainly easy to fault the film on its lack of originality, artificial set pieces and awkward melange of farce and comedy-drama, but if viewed in the right frame of mind, and not taken too seriously, it can be a pleasing romp.  It certainly makes a welcome diversion from the grim, angst-riddled dramas which have formed the mainstay of "serious" French cinema in recent years.

© James Travers 2004

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