Meilleur espoir féminin (2000) - film review

Yvon Rance manages a modest hairdresser’s salon in a small Brittany village with his 17year old daughter, Laetitia.  Since separating from his wife, Yvon has grown overly protective towards his daughter and is horrified when he learns that she has been offered the leading role in a romantic film.  Laetitia is not going to let an opportunity like this pass and finally she manages to convince her father to let her make the film.   It is not long before Yvon has second thoughts...

Although he is perhaps best known as a comic actor (in such films as Papy fait de la résistance and Le Père Noël est une ordure), Gérard Jugnot has pursued a parallel career as a director, scoring a number of popular successes.  Meilleur espoir féminin is one of his best films to date, a typically Gallic mix of comic farce and sentimental drama, in which Jugnot also plays the lead role.

In addition to be a hugely entertaining piece of cinema, the film paints a fairly convincing portrait of the brittle relationship between an over-protective father and his adolescent daughter.  The films somehow manages to balance moments of dramatic poignancy with moments of sublime hilarity, thanks to an excellent script and a generally high calibre of acting.  Whilst a few of the comic situations appear a little contrived, the sheer talent and inspiration in both the writing and the acting carries the film through and there is scarcely a dull moment in the entire film.

Jugnot himself turns in a memorable performance, quite different to his more familiar boisterous comic roles.  His portrayal of Yvon Rance is as sympathetic as it is humorous, a genuinely rounded character, showing that Jugnot is not just a talented comedian but also an actor of no mean ability.

© James Travers 2002

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