Riviera (2006) - film review

Stella is a beautiful 17-year-old who lives on the French Riviera with her mother, Antoinette.  By night, Stella works as a gogo dancer in a nightclub; by day, she hangs around with her gang and a good-for-nothing boyfriend, Fabrizio.   Antoinette, who works as a hotel chambermaid, is dismayed by her daughter’s choice of lovers and hopes that she will find someone more suitable to settle down with.  One day, she finds the ideal son-in-law, Jean-Michel Romansky, an estate agent staying at the hotel where she works.  Antoinette contrives to bring him and her daughter together...

After her impressive debut feature Petite chérie (2000), director Anne Villacèque failed to win much positive criticism for this lacklustre romantic drama.  Presumably in an attempt to give some substance and credibility to the threadbare narrative, Villacèque adopts a highly stylised approach which quickly becomes tiresome and distracting.  Despite a creditable contribution from Miou-Miou (which none of her co-stars comes anywhere near to matching), the film is almost completely lacking in character and emotional realism.  The plot is so predictable and strewn with clichés that you have only to watch the first five minutes to know how the film is going to end.  Definitely not worth the effort.

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