France has a long tradition of making movies centered around adolescence. From Truffaut's "The 400 blows" (1958), to Pinoteau's "La Boum" (1980), many a French film have marked generations of teens. "L'effrontée" is one of them, rightly acclaimed when it came out, and as sweet a story as it can get.
The movie follows Charlotte Gainsbourg's homonymous teenage character, an arrogant girl who is more sophisticated than teens of her age. Both of her parents have died, and so she lives with two simple, quite close-minded adults, with her only friend being a sick child, Loulou, who lives next door. All this changes when child prodigy Clara Baumann comes to the city for a piano recital. The heroine tries to befriend her, and falsely believes that Baumann wants her as her impresario. In the course of the story, the protagonist takes valuable lessons about friendship, the sense of belonging, and family.
The director, Claude Miller, had risen to popularity with his noir classic, "Garde à vue" in 1981. His fame mostly stemmed from crime films, such as the aforementioned and the intricate, "Mortelle randonnée " (1983),in which he paired Michel Serrault and Isabelle Adjani in a gripping story of murder and love. It is though, in "L'effrontée" where his true skills shine. Like Truffaut before him, Miller seems to understands the youth regarded as outcasts. Our heroine is an intellectual, whose irritation comes from the fact that no one wants to understand her, since her way of behaviour is strange for a kid her age. In the film, she is presented both as forward-thinking, wanting to escape life in her dull small town, and self-centered, as she has no problem leaving everyone behind in order to achieve her goal. In the end, though, most viewers will empathize with her passion for life, her will to rise, and become something more than just a small -town girl.
Gainsbourg's acting was excellent and she rightly deserved her César for most promising actress. The others were good, too, but it's through her that the film becomes what it is. The whole movie serves as a journey to the young heroine, who cries, laughs, dreams, tries to find a person to look up to, only to understand in the end that this person isn't the one she was searching for.
The music makes this film even more enjoyable. Although there is no original score, the viewers are served to frequent listening of European super -hit "Sarà perché ti amo" by Ricchi e poveri. The song also serves as a way to discover Charlotte Gainsbourg's character in the film. It's a simple pop song, mainstream music, something that the common teenagers of the time listened to. By listening to it, the heroine betrays the very same thing she wants to be; a sophisticated, grown-up person. It's not that she has any particular passion for classical music; the only reason she wants to go with Clara is to find her own idol, to differentiate herself from her environment. In reality, though, she remains an ordinary teenager, prefering chart-toppers to masterpieces of music.
The film makes an interesting point about teen idols and friendships. If we put the average teen in the place of the protagonist, most of them would also see themselves as unique, and would want to escape their family environment. Every teenager has a Clara Baumann, although they probably haven't met her in person. It's their idol, a person they look up to, they want to be like and they imitate. It's a sad reality, though, that many of these idols are too different, too perfect, for teens to really emulate, and believe they are one of them. While it's not correct to give up one's dreams, it's more important to focus on the present, and help those who need you now,your family, and your real friends, Miller tells us. Because,at the end of the day, it's not the over-ambitious Charlotte, or the talented Clara that benefits the most, but the simple, sickly, annoying Loulou.
What more can I say about "L'effrontée"? It's such a charming film that I loved everything about it. The 80's is not only the lavishness of "Star Wars", the adventurousness of "Indiana Jones", and the fun of "La Boum". It's also the sweetness of "L'effrontée". Claude Miller did it again, and way better this time.
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