Film Review
What is essentially little more than a low-grade chaotic farce, a silly take on the caper
movie, is made surprisingly enjoyable thanks to its impressive cast, which includes some
of the most promising young actors in France today.
Tout pour l'oseille is the seventh cinematic feature by Bertrand Van Effenterre,
who has successfully divided his time between cinema and television in a busy
career since the mid-1970s. His previous work includes the sombre drama
Tumultes (1990).
Bruno Putzulu (
Éloge de l'amour) is
amusing as a sympathetic but thoroughly hapless
young man who seems destined to fail at everything
Fate throws at him. Sylvie Testud (
Stupeur et tremblements)
leaves us in no doubt she has a natural flair
for comedy, even if she obviously has far greater talent than her role in this film allows
her to show. Then there's Laurent Lucas playing (of all things) a comical skinhead
retard - a million miles from the kind of part he is best known for (the darkly introspective
sort who looks like a graduate from the Hannibal Lecter school of charm and normality
- witness his portrayals in
Tiresia and
Qui a tué Bambi?).
If there's just one reason for watching this film it is to see Lucas pushing his own personal
envelope and showing what he is capable of.
There are also some nice contributions
from Alexia Portal, Thomas Jouannet and Patrick Braoudé, although all three actors
are criminally underused, largely as a result of a script which merits at least three
more re-writes. With so much talent at his disposal, you'd have thought director
Bertrand Van Effenterre would have had an easy job making a great film. Unfortunately,
the rambling storyline, contrived comic situations and unconvincing characterisation count
against him, somewhat diminishing the film's impact and entertainment value.
© James Travers 2007
The above content is owned by filmsdefrance.com and must not be copied.
Film Synopsis
Charlie is desperate to pay back the money he owes his friend, Frédo, a struggling
artist who makes ends meet by working as an interior decorator. With the help of
his unstable and slightly retarded brother Paulo, Charlie embarks on a series of minor
criminal exploits which inevitably turn out for the worse. Charlie's girlfriend,
Prune, is a cleaner for a company that ostensibly raises money for medical research.
On discovering where the money he is kept, she suggests that Charlie and Frédo
should steal it, thereby resolving all their financial problems. Unfortunately,
Charlie insists that Paolo should play a part in the robbery…
© James Travers
The above content is owned by filmsdefrance.com and must not be copied.