Film Review
Is French cinema suffering from an acute bout of Hollywooditis at the
moment? Are French film directors showing too keen a tendency to
emulate their cousins across the pond in an increasingly desperate
attempt to move with the times? It is easy to think so, judging
by a large segment of France's mainstream output over the past few
years. In 2013, Alexandre Castagnetti's
Amour & turbulences (a.k.a.
Love Is in the Air) was the most
flagrant example of this, a polished, likeable but entirely derivative
comedy that feels like an over-stuffed compilation of your favourite
American rom-coms. After Castagnetti's disappointing first
feature,
L'Incruste (2004), this latest
comedy offering certainly has much more crowdpulling appeal but it can
hardly be called a model of sparkling originality. It has
Hollywood retread written all over it and you hardly recognise it as a
French film at all.
Amour & turbulences may be
flawed but it has two massively redeeming assets, in the shape of its
two sexy lead performers Ludivine Sagnier and Nicolas Bedos.
Sagnier needs no introduction - suffice it to say she is one of
France's most charismastic and well thought of actresses and brings
lustre to anything she appears in. Nicolas Bedos is a comparative
newcomer to the big screen and this is his first leading role.
The son of the much-loved French comedian and actor Guy Bedos, he has
had a hard time emerging from his father's shadow and it is only
recently (at the age of 30) that he has been able to forge a promising career as an actor.
Bedos is perfect casting for the role of the serial philanderer.
He isn't the easiest of personalities to warm to but in a few scenes
his performance shows a surprising depth and maturity, even if it is apparent right
from the off that the actor's portrayal is a cute parody of
himself. Sagnier and Bedos are a chalk-and-cheese pairing that
works remarkably well. Not only do they have a good on-screen
rapport but they each reflect something of the other's inner
vulnerability and emotional needs, so that we never for a moment have
cause to doubt that Julie and Antoine are made for one another.
Sagnier's remarkable acting prowess and Bedos's primitive gigolo charm
make an unbeatable combination - the duo almost deserve their own
television series.
In almost every other department the film falls way short of
perfection, although most of its shortcomings are of the kind that are
readily forgiven in view of the commitment put in on both sides of the
camera. The script is the one thing that could have done with a
little more attention. A protracted prologue holds things up
unnecessarily and the main part of the narrative, consisting mostly of
hurried flashbacks, feels choppy and uneven. As likeable as
Jonathan Cohen and Clémentine Célarié are, their
characters are given too much screen time and provide an unwelcome
distraction from the central narrative. A lack of discipline in
the writing department results in a film that is structurally ungainly
and at least ten minutes over-long - flaws that might have been
fatal had Sagnier and Bedos not been around to save it.
Alexandre Castagnetti's direction is not without flair, a vast
improvement on his first film, but is perhaps too self-consciously
Hollywood-oriented. The soundtrack consists of exclusively
American blues numbers (from the likes of Esther Phillips and The
Trinikas) and the design (including excessive use of split screen and
kitschy montage sequences) looks as if it is on a Terminator-style
mission to obliterate all traces of French-ness from the film.
You'd almost think that
Amour &
turbulences is afraid to admit to having been made in France and
is doing everything it can to hide the fact. You wonder why
Castagnetti didn't go the whole hog and have all the dialogue in
English.
It's an odd thing that so many of today's talented French filmmakers
appear incapable of appreciating the unique charms that make French
films so attractive to an international audience. Instead, they
bend over backwards to copy the American model, not realising what they
sacrifice in doing so. Mercifully,
Amour & turbulences is far from
being a complete sell out, but it could have been a whole lot better if
Castagnetti had been less inclined to imitate what they do in
Tinseltown and instead relied more on that old French magic.
© James Travers 2014
The above content is owned by filmsdefrance.com and must not be copied.
Film Synopsis
Julie, an aspiring young artist, is on a plane from New York to Paris,
where she is soon to be married. By chance, she is upgraded to
club class and finds herself sitting next to Antoine, a philandering
lawyer with whom she had a passionate love affair three years
previously. Julie knows Antoine too well to want to renew their
relationship but Antoine has other ideas. With seven hours ahead
of them before the plane touches down in Paris, Antoine is going to do
everything within his power to re-ignite their former romance...
© James Travers
The above content is owned by filmsdefrance.com and must not be copied.