Laissons Lucie faire!
2000 Comedy / Romance
|
Credits
|
|
|
Summary
Lucie makes her living selling bathing costumes on the beach at Marseilles. Her
boyfriend Lucien wants to become a policeman, but is rejected and, instead, is recruited
as a secret agent. The couple’s ten-year long relationship looks as if it might
be over when Lucie starts to fantasise about another man and Lucien embarks on an impromptu
affair with an American woman. Then Lucie discovers a book about the psychology
of love and decides to put what she reads into practice...
Review
This charming romantic comedy marks a promising directoral debut for Emmanuel Mouret,
who also wrote the script and starred in the film. Although the plot lacks credibility
in a few places (the absurdity of the secret agent subplot comes close to undermining
the entire film), it is an uplifting little piece of cinema with some genuinely funny
moments. There is also a gentle tenderness and humanity which often gets lost in
such films. At a time when gritty realism and angst-ridden drama appear to have
become the norm in French cinema, it is a joy to watch a film which takes a sunnier view
of life. Vive la diversité!
Marie Gillain is delightful as the film’s principal
heroine (making us wish we saw more of her than we do in this kind of film), whilst Emmanuel
Mouret, with his uncanny resemblance to that comic giant Fernandel, gives great entertainment
value as the terminally useless Lucien. The film relies heavily on its two lead
actors and the fact that it works so well is down mainly to the talent of these two performers.
© James Travers 2003
|
|
