À la folie... pas du tout

Be careful about reading these reviews because almost anything can be a spoiler. I'll just say that the DVD cover, the movie posters, marketing and even the movie title are deceptively breezy. No, this ain't Amelie. Rather, this movie delves pretty deep into the twisted workings of the human mind. It's very cleverly done in a non-linear fashion (like Citizen Kane, Rashomon, or my favourite Gilligan's Island episodes where we see the same thing from different points of view).

The acting is superb, and the direction is right on par. The only gripe I have with this film is that due to its stealthy presentation it sometimes suffers from an identity crisis. I believe this could have been remedied with a more dynamic musical score (that is, it would have been more powerful if the music reflected the changes in the film's "personality"). There may have been other minor flaws which prevent me from giving this film a higher rating, but overall it was a worthwhile experience.

This is an interesting story of obsessive love. We first explore the story from her point of view, then his. Given the main plot idea of obsessive love, it invites a comparison to "Fatal Attraction". This is a much better film. The plot is more interesting, with solid acting. There are a lot of inferences as to what happened in the film. We aren't spoon-fed the entire plot.

I found it to be quite enjoyable.

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.

Basically I'm British and am not really supposed to like the French, I'm not sure why, I think it's something to do with Agincourt, Napoleon and the Eurovision Song Contest. Despite this I am frankly enamored with them because they're so much cooler than we could ever be.

It is because they are so comfortable in their own skin that they can get away with movies which would be embarrassing if made by the British and ghastly if made by the Americans. "À la folie... pas du tout" falls into this category. Sartre had a gift for doing philosophy in a hip, wine drinking, story telling, bohemian way. This movie has done a disturbing, psychological, tragic romance in a beautiful, sumptuous, fist-bitingly lovely way. I'm sure it's something to do with being French.

The only thing that irked me was that the script and plot were both repeatedly, albeit momentarily, clumsy. For a movie so graceful in terms of acting and direction it was sad that the screenplay couldn't quite keep pace.

On the upside the acting was great. I'm probably biased as it's only a profound laziness that stops me stalking Audrey Tautou, but she was marvelous. The story moved quickly and even the marginally avant garde perspective shift was beautifully achieved. The conclusion is wonderfully dark and leaves you feeling that the plot has been going somewhere and that you've arrived there quite unexpectedly.

Had the script been a little more polished I'd have given it more marks. Having said that I don't expect that anybody involved in the movie will be crying themselves to sleep because some random internet bloke has given them 8 out of 10. Having said that if Audrey Tautou should happen to stumble across this review my address is...

Watch it you'll enjoy it.

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.