Film Review
Never one to depart from a tried and tested formula if he can help it,
director Claude Lelouch serves up another syrupy melodrama constructed
around his favourite themes of love, death and friendship.
Salaud, on t'aime is classic
Lelouch, safe and predictable, a banal storyline garnished with
platitudinous dialogue and well-worn archetypes, anodyne fare that the
director could knock out in his sleep if he so chose (not that anyone
would ever know the difference). As ever, the free-spirited
filmmaker whom the critics love to hate manages to assemble an
impeccable cast to help deflect attention from his shortcomings on both
the writing and directing fronts. This time Lelouch surpasses
himself by bringing together two of France's biggest rock legends -
Johnny Hallyday and Eddy Mitchell - and two actresses that no critic
can fault - Sandrine Bonnaire and Irène Jacob. As far as
human shields go, this one is pretty impressive.
Alas, not even this accumulation of acting talent can save a film if
its director is Hell-bent on destroying its credibility almost from the
word go. If there is one criticism that can legitimately be
levelled against Claude Lelouch it is a tendency to over-compensate for
his shortcomings as a student of human nature by overdoing everything else
(often to ludicrous proportions). Not content with developing a
thoughtful study in family reconciliation (which is obviously a thinly
disguised self-portrait), Lelouch has to throw in an unconvincing and
totally unnecessary crime subplot which completely derails the last
third of the film. Intimate scenes in which the principals
perform a special alchemy on Lelouch's cheesy dialogue and somehow
render it poignant and meaningful are spoiled by hideously sentimental
background music. Throw in some over-exuberant camerawork which
is simply too grand for the narrative to support and it's no surprise
that the whole thing looks like an over-ambitious film school project
that has got carried away with itself. Shards of creative brilliance
punctuate this film, but under Lelouch's undisciplined stewardship the
end result is far less than the sum of its parts.
With a less distinguished cast this latest Lelouch escapade would be
easily dismissed as yet another Grade A fiasco (of the 44 films Lelouch
has made so far only about a dozen have stood the test of time and
offer something resembling a satisfying viewing
experience). It there is one thing that redeems the film it
is the sheer pleasure (reserved, admittedly, for spectators of a
certain generation) of seeing Johnny Hallyday and Eddy Mitchell on
screen together, sparring off one another in a way that leaves no
doubt they have a long shared history together. The scenes with
Hallyday and Bonnaire are just as moving, both actors managing to fill
the aching voids in their vacuous dialogue with subtle visual cues that
convey so much more about their characters' needs and anxieties.
It's a valiant salvage operation that these great actors perform but in
the end their efforts are overwhelmed by the scale of their
undertaking. After a reasonably engaging first half,
Salaud, on t'aime just falls to
pieces in its final act and leaves you wishing that Lelouch would just
call it a day, or at least hire a decent scriptwriter.
© James Travers 2014
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Next Claude Lelouch film:
Chacun sa vie (2017)
Film Synopsis
Throughout his busy career, Jacques Kaminsky has been so committed to
his profession as a war photographer that he has neglected his parental
responsibilities. He hardly knows the four daughters he has
fathered through four different relationships, girls that have been named
after the four seasons of the year. Now in retirement he hopes to
live a peaceful life in the Alps with his latest amorous conquest, the
attractive estate agent who sold him his chalet. His well-meaning
best friend Frédéric Selman is keen that Jacques should
patch things up with his daughters and so arranges for them to visit
him at his new mountain retreat. To do so, he must resort to a
small subterfuge...
© James Travers
The above content is owned by filmsdefrance.com and must not be copied.