Oui, mais... (2001)
Directed by Yves Lavandier

Film Review

After completing his film studies in New York (where he studied under Milos Forman), Yves Lavandier went on to become a prominent educator in the field of screenwriting across much of Europe.  La Dramaturgie, the book he published in 1994, has become a seminal text on writing for the stage and screen, but it wasn't until 2001 that he wrote and directed his first film, Oui, mais..., a quirky comedy that makes some humorous observations on adolescent angst and the black art of psychotherapy.  Prior to this, Lavandier had made a number of short films, notably The Perverts, which won him a prize in 1985 for the Best Film at Columia University's School of Arts.

Oui, mais... looks like a typically Gallic response to Good Will Hunting (1997), in which the patient (Émilie Dequenne) unburdens her troubles and her therapist (Gérard Jugnot) does nothing except nod his head and utters a few encouraging noises.  The film's charm and entertainment value lie not to so much in its subject matter but in the electric interplay between the two lead characters, who develop a strangely ambiguous relationship in the course of the series of consultations (and you end up wondering who is treating whom).

A former member of the popular comedy troupe L'équipe du Splendid, Jugnot was by this time one of the mainstays of mainstream French cinema, equally at home in the most riotous comedies (Les Bronzés, Le père Noël est une ordure, Le Quart d'heure américain) and more serious dramas (Monsieur Batignole, Les Choristes).  Émilie Dequenne was comparatively a newcomer, although she had already found acclaim and won the Best Actress Award at Cannes in 1999 for her lead performance in the Dardenne brothers' Rosetta.  Like Jugnot, Dequenne would soon prove to be an immensely versatile performer, although she is at her best in serious auteur films like André Téchiné's La Fille du RER (2009) and Joachim Lafosse's À perdre la raison (2012).

Oui, mais... may not be a particularly polished work (Lavandier's lack of experience as a director shows in virtually ever scene) but it strikes just the right balance between humour and human interest.  As in Rosetta, Dequenne's portrayal of an adolescent struggling with a crushing bout of teenage angst is heartbreakingly true to life, and her scenes with Jugnot have an incredible warmth and sincerity to them.  (Jugnot later commented that this was the first time in his career that he played someone more intelligent than himself).

The film's Achilles heel is, ironically (given that Lavandier promotes himself as a script guru) the screenplay, which fails to make any of the secondary characters come to life and struggles to present a coherent narrative.  Lavandier shows far more promise as a director, employing rarely used devices (such as Jugnot talking straight to camera) to give substance to what would otherwise have been a pretty lacklustre film.  Oui, mais... received a generally positive critical response on its release in 2001 (winning prizes at three film festivals), but it remains Lavandier's sole directorial attempt so far.  His only subsequent screen credit was for the film Monsieur Batignole (2002), in which he played Jugnot's brother.

Film Synopsis

Eglantine Laville is 17 and already she is finding life too hard to cope with.  It is not difficult to see why this might be.  Her mother shows her no interest and instead wallows in self-pity, knocking back the booze as her self-absorbed husband occupies himself with his extramarital affairs.  If life at home is no bed of roses, Eglantine's experiences at college are no less angst-inducing.  She is constantly under pressure from her fellow students to bed as many good-looking males as she can but she prefers to refrain from sex, at least for the time being.  This creates some difficulties with her boyfriend Sébastien, who is one of the over-sexed college boys who is so desperate to get Eglantine into bed.

Poor confused and generally stressed out Eglantine wonders whom she can turn to in this moment of crisis.  Fortunately, she finds someone who may be able to help her - an amiable middle-aged psychotherapist named Erwann Moenner.  Hopeful that she may at last be able to find a way through her present troubles, Eglantine subjects herself to Moenner's course of psychotherapy, with surprising results...