Wahnsinnig verliebt

I didn't know what to expect when I saw this. I'm an American living in France and my girlfriend is French and rents all the French movies for me. This is one of those mixed genre movies that actually works! Audrey Tautou is so charming and capable as an actress that she makes you root for her even when you know she's playing someone completely crazy. She's already the biggest, most successful actress here in France and she's going to get even bigger. She's got what it takes to play different characters and she shows that in this movie.

The director brilliantly pieces together the two halves of this movie and by the end, it is believable. We almost wanted to watch it again so we can catch the tricks but we didn't have time.

Anyway this is a great French treat and for those of you who liked Tautou in "Amelie" and "A Very Long Engagement" you're going to like her in this one too.

It's really hard to talk about this movie without giving something away. I'll give away as little as possible, but my recommendation would be, stop reading this or any other review and just watch the movie, it's very good.

Since I don't want to give anything away I can't say much about the story. It starts as a movie about a cute, sweet girl in love, and the movie's use of an actress who exudes sweetness and innocence makes what happens as the movie progresses all the more startling. The movie is devoted to its one central trick, and what's notable is not the trick - lots of movies have tricks - but how much time is spent in showing off the filmmaker's cleverness. This could have been annoying or self indulgent but I enjoyed it. Some people won't be surprised - I'm really not as good as guessing twists as a lot of people (which is why I consider the movie Matchstick Men to be so poor in spite of good reviews; that one I guessed straight through to the end early on) - but I was surprised and quite delighted.

This "thriller lite" tells of innocence and victimization, and relies as much on its structural twists as on Audrey Tautou's saucer eyes and Samuel Le Bihan's hunkiness. You might even call it a black comedy, with lots of freshness and style. The best way to view this is to go in cold, relax, and let it grab you by the arm and gently drag you in.

That said, it is not really a romance, although people who like romances will find enough roses and hand-drawn artwork here to please. If you are one of those who generally refuses to see movies with "love" in the title, consider that "love" isn't in the original French title, so rest assured you can watch this without reservation.

Audrey Tautou might at first sight seem to be an actress with limitations, but most of what goes through in her character's heads are shown in the eyes.

This starts as a family comedy about the innocent girl sending her loved one flowers and other presents. But it gets worse and in the end you're watching a thriller that doesn't make you feel at ease. It becomes a story of life and death and not just in the physical way.

The story is told from two view points. It remains exciting anyway.

Audrey Tautou is in my opinion the greatest rising star of the French cinema. Coming from a tradition that does not lack great actors, beautiful divas, living legends, and huge comedians, Audrey seems to bring together talent and beauty, huge interior and exterior beauty. Some compared her with the other Audrey - Hepburn, but in my opinion the French star talent exceeds by light-years the one of the American.

'A la folie...' is an interesting film by itself. An apparent tragic love story is being told from one of the partners angle in the first half of the movie - just to be re-told from the other partner perspective in the second part. The second half and the end hide a twist. Both script and film are cleverly written though made by a script-writer and director (Laetitia Colombani) only at her second film. I am expecting good things from her in the future.

Worth seeing - 8/10 on my personal scale.