Down by Love

I gave seven for the absolutely mesmerizing cast. This couple formed by Guillaume Gallienne (Les garçons et Guillaume à table, Yves Saint Laurent), one of the most versatile and surprising French actors (he's also part of la Comedy Francaise theater company), always powerful in his creativity, and a very talented young actress,like Adele Exarchopoulos (La vie d'Adele) who can explode with emotions, seemed odd on paper but it works, like all the other actors (notable mention to the wonderful Stephanie Cleau). Fortunately, I must say, because the director Pierre Godeau, doesn't seem able to cope properly with the sensitive matter in the plot. A love story in prison between the jail director and a prisoner, inspired to a real fact that happened to "Emma" , a young woman involved in France, in the vicious kidnapping and homicide of a young Jewish man by a street gang. None of the criminal case is present in the movie. Godeau sublimates the characters in the world apart of the prison, which can be cool, but he hasn't a real direction. Here everything is left in mid-air, or reduced to simplistic answers. The actors nonetheless make the movie compelling.

This is no masterpiece, as I've noted with a rating of 4. Exarchopoulos is a limited actress, and she's in practically every scene. Gallienne is a more than capable actor, but his part falls into blandness most of the time. The supporting cast do their best with a limited script. It was nice to see Marie Riviere, star of several Rohmer films, as the girl's mother. The story of a decent man falling for a trashy girl is hardly new; it's the plot of one of the greatest operas, Carmen. At least in that work, the audience is not required to guess at the motivations of the two leads.

This movie really is just a bad clichée.

Mid aged prison warden (Guillaume Gallienne aged 44) falls for his much younger and very beautiful new female prisoner (Adèle Exarchopoulos aged 23).

The story line is all about his attraction for her. And it's extremely flat and boring. We don't know her objectives. Which could be made in an interesting manner, except it's not. And there is nothing extraordinarily interesting about this story, except that it is set in a prison.

The film is basically a creepy old man lusting after a beautiful young girl. Not exactly new story... There is no depht to it either, it really is as shallow as it sounds.

I'll admit that it's hard for me to watch a love story all the way to the end. And that's because it's hard to watch so many clichés and fake sweetness made up to resemble a young girl's idealistic dreams.

So I did enjoy watching this movie. It has many selling points, like for instance the refined acting of the protagonists or Adele's sensuality and ability to display complex feelings and create intimacy.

But I feel there's too much sex involved, which makes sense in a way, since the nature of attraction between the two of them was rather sensual. I don't mind watching nudes but I wanted to recommend this to a woman or two and I realized I risk being considered a pervert. Not that I'm not but I don't want my mother to know. LOL.

No pun intended - I doubt there are any warm colors in prison ... on the other hand, they do have some painting sessions too, so there is that. But this is about a forbidden love - about what it does to people who should not love each other - mentally and otherwise. And it may not be the one in prison who actually is ... a prisoner of love .... well you know what I mean.

All that aside, the acting is incredible. And Adele really bares it all - so yes a lot of nudity, which you should not have issues with, if you want to watch the movie. But it also is quite straining when you think about the relationships of the characters.

Very well laid out - and it sort of makes sense - stuff like this happens and the movie is a reminder. Now you can blame one party or the other, depending on your moral compass .... but sometimes things just fall into place without anyone being able to stop them ... well those involved that is ... hurting others is the byproduct for sure. Not an easy watch, but quite passionate in more than one sense.