J'invente rien (2006)
Directed by Michel Leclerc

Film Review

In 2010, director Michel Leclerc notched up a notable critical and commercial hit with his second feature, Le Nom des gens, winning the 2011 César for Best Screenplay with his co-writer and real-life partner Baya Kasmi.  By comparison his first film, J'invente rien, made four years previously, came and went virtually unnoticed, despite the highly enticing presence of Elsa Zylberstein and Kad Merad in the lead roles.  Prior to this, Leclerc had cut his professional teeth on French television, first as an editor, then gravitating to writer and director, on such shows as Nulle part ailleurs and Âge sensible.

J'invente rien is one of those slight, unpretentious French comedies that is all too easy to overlook, not helped by the fact that it is the work of a first-time director.  A gentle satire on modern life and the problems of conjugal living, the film is somewhat lacking in substance, but it makes up for this with the inspired casting, that offers the combined talents of two of French cinema's most likeable stars - Kad Merad and Elsa Zylberstein - with Patrick Chesnais and Claude Brasseur making their presence felt in two made-to-measure (albeit slightly offbeat) supporting roles.  Low-key to a fault, J'invente rien is unlikely to leave much of a lasting impression, but whilst it lasts it makes fun viewing, the gentle humour periodically pepped up by some slightly surreal digressions and shrewd observations on modern life.

Film Synopsis

Paul Thalman and Mathilde Mahut would appear to have nothing in common.  Yet, from the moment they first set eyes on one another they know at once they were meant to be together.  Paul is one of life's perpetual dreamers - the eternal adolescent who is unlikely ever to hold down an ordinary job for more than five minutes.  Mathilde is the practical one, the one who has the sense and maturity to earn herself a modest crust as an artist and decorator so that she can support them both.  After five years of living together in Paris, Mathilde feels the time has come for her other half to go out and get himself some paid employment, but he remains convinced that he destined for better things.  Paul's dream is to invent something that will bring him not just fame and fortune, but also the everlasting admiration of his by now exasperated life partner.  One day his patience is rewarded when inspiration strikes suddenly like a bolt of lightning.  His brainchild is a revolutionary new gadget that is guaranteed to make shopping bags easier to carry.  So certain is Paul of success that he immediately throws everything he has into his new venture.  As he does so he is totally oblivious to the fact that he may be about to lose Mathilde to another man...