Film Review
After finding considerable acclaim with his first feature,
Jimmy Rivière (2011), director
Teddy Lussi-Modeste serves up another vibrant slice-of-life comedy-drama
inspired by his own firsthand experiences as an artist emerging from humble
origins.
Le Prix du succès (a.k.a.
The Price of Success)
treads more familiar ground than the director's first feature, offering a
fairly prosaic portrayal of a stand-up comedian who, having had stardom suddenly
thrust upon him, finds himself torn between his personal ambitions and his
obligations to his family. Whilst the film doesn't quite manage to
stay clear of the obvious clichés, it is still an engaging and insightful
work that reaffirms Lussi-Modeste's standing as a promising auteur filmmaker
of some stature.
As with his first feature, Lussi-Modeste scripted the film with Rebecca Zlotowski,
who has also proven to be a capable filmmaker in recent years, garnering
considerable critical praise for her films
Belle Épine (2010) and
Grand Central (2013). The
male lead in the latter film, Tahar Rahim, best known for his César-winning
performance in Jacques Audiard's
Un prophète
(2009), takes the central role in
Le Prix du succès, partnered
with two comparable talents, Roschdy Zem playing his manipulative older brother
and Maïwenn (another promising filmmaker) as his girlfriend and most
trusted adviser.
Rahim has already demonstrated his skill for playing complex, inwardly conflicted
characters in a range of impressive auteur pieces, and as the main protagonist
in Lussi-Modeste's film - a popular comedian whose yearning for fame, fortune
and freedom appear thwarted by his brother - he is harrowingly
convincing. A more charismatic performer like Jamel Debbouze would
have been a more obvious shoe-in for the role, but Rahim still manages to
arouse our sympathies and keep us hooked even though he is not a natural
funny man.
In one of his most brutal and loathsome screen portrayals to date, Zem is
no less convincing; he brings such a steely aggression and sheer unbridled
nastiness to his portrayal of Rahim's self-interested brother that you are
left wondering whether the pursuit of fame is worth it. Zem's character
epitomises the grim downside of success - the relentless vicious parasitism
from which no star can ever escape.
With a bigger budget and starrier cast,
Le Prix du succès has
more box office appeal than Lussi-Modeste's first feature but it doesn't
quite have the idiosyncratic charm and resounding authenticity of
Jimmy
Rivière. No doubt massively informed by its author's own
experiences of being thrown suddenly into the limelight, the film offers
up a convincing account of an individual who, having achieved his dream of
stardom, finds himself incredibly vulnerable and prey to malign influences.
The one noticeable downside is that the narrative winds up scooting down an
all too predictable groove towards the end, failing to deliver the punch-line
that we might have hoped for and which the film deserves.
© James Travers 2017
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Film Synopsis
Brahim has been waiting for his big break as a stand-up comedian for ten
years and now it is finally within his grasp he has no intention of letting
it pass him by. He owes his success as much to his hard-working director
Linda, whom he adores, as to his own formidable talents as a humour-smith.
A good son, he continues supporting his family, and has no regrets about doing
so. But Brahim realises that if his run of good fortune is to continue
he must part company with his older brother Mourad, the manager he can no
longer depend on to look after his best interests.
With his new manager, Hervé, Brahim is confident that his career
can only continue on its upwards trajectory, towards heights of stardom that
a few years ago he could scarcely imagine. Once an unknown comedian
used to performing in dismal nightclubs, Brahim is now heading for the big
time, and woe betide anything or anyone that gets in his way! Failure
is not something he is even prepared to contemplate, but in his relentless
pursuit of fame and wealth he will soon discover that success comes at a
much higher price than he reckoned for...
© James Travers
The above content is owned by filmsdefrance.com and must not be copied.