De vrais mensonges

What could the director of a romantic comedy in 2010 wish more than to have in the cast Nathalie Baye and Audrey Tautou in the roles of a mother and a daughter entangled in a love intrigue that has as its object (or the third tip of the triangle if you want) the same man? Film director Pierre Salvadori (also the co-author of the script) had this opportunity and the result did not live up to my expectations. 'De vrais mensonges' (meaning 'True Lies' although the title chosen for the English version is 'Beautiful Lies', probably to avoid the conflict with the American 'True Lies' featuring Schwarzenegger and Jamie Lee Curtis) manages to be just an acceptable summer comedy in which the best thing is the presence of the two actresses, still leaving the feeling that they are used below their exceptional potential.

The biggest problem of Audrey Tautou's career may be the fact that she realized so early a role unique in beauty and emotion as 'Amélie'. The result was that the scenarios offered later, and sometimes the directions, also tried to emulate that success. To add to the confusion (maybe intentionally) in 'De vrais mensonges' the heroine is called ... Emilie, kind of an Amelie ten years later who tries to do exactly what Amelie did, that is to make everyone around her happy and first of all her mother (Nathalie Baye) traumatized by the fact that her husband (Emilie's father) had left her for a much younger woman. However, Emily neglects herself, including her own feelings. When in the beauty salon she owns she hires a maintenance man who turns out to be much more than that and who secretly falls in love with her, the premises are ripe for a comedy of situations having at the center a triangle of insecure lovers who send each other anonymous letters, lie to each other, suffer and deceive those around them, but especially lie to and deceive themselves.

Acting is up to the expectations. Audrey Tautou continues to mesmerize us with her unique eyes and tangles in the complications created by her own kindness, while Nathalie Baye adds to her record another role as a mature woman who struggles with courage and partial success with age, keeping her beauty and sex appeal. The triangle is completed by Sami Bouajila in the role of Jean, the romantic electrician who also turns out to be a polyglot and the owner of an impressive library. However, the main problem of the film is the schematic approach and the simplistic comic of situations. The idea of the epistolary misunderstanding is an excellent starting point, but what follows does not exceed the level of a television sitcom, and actually not a very successful one. what a pity. This movie could have been much more interesting than it came out.

Love seems especially beautiful when it happens in France, doesn't it? We've all imagined ourselves as the beautiful people headlining French movies like Amelie (2001), A Very Long Engagement (2004) and Priceless (2006). Is it just coincidence that the above-mentioned movies feature French cinema's darling Audrey Tautou? Here we have another romantic comedy starring the lovely starlet and her pixie crop.

Tautou plays Emilie (probably paying homage to Amelie, the character which made the French star a household name), an owner of a hairdressing salon who receives a hand written love letter from a shy handyman. She dismisses the passionate letter at first, but when she realises that her mother is still distraught over the betrayal of her father, she decides to resend the letter to cheer the upset woman up. What follows is a series of misunderstandings and an awkward love triangle involving a man caught between two women who are mother and daughter.

This is your usual French charmer, with a tried and test romantic comedy formula. You'd be chuckling instead of roaring in laughter at the setups and the occasional sexual innuendos, you'd be impressed with yourself (yet again) because you could see the ending coming one quarter into the 105 minute movie, and you'd have no problem sitting through this lightweight and accessible production where everyone, well, is a charmer.

We are talking about the caricatured characters here, ranging from Tautou's smart alec but lovable protagonist, Nathalie Baye's (Catch Me If You Can) mother character who seems a little too hungry for sex, Sami Bouajia's (Days of Glory) handsome handyman, and other supporting roles written to provide additional laughs. This isn't exactly a bad thing though - the people in the world written by scriptwriter Benoit Graffin may lead everyday lives like ours, but there is something particularly charismatic about how they appear on screen. This makes us common folks desire for a lifestyle like theirs, and that's probably why everyone loves French cinema.

Tautou and her signature bob does nothing new here, but still manages to have you siding with her idiosyncratic and quirky character. Baye steals the show as the mother whose love life is turned upside down after receiving a zealously written love letter. The actress manages to deliver a comical performance which provides the energy for the film. Bouajia isn't too bad either, as one can only imagine his frustration as he finds himself caught between two women. Supporting characters played by Stephanie Lagarde and Judith Chemla complete the likable ensemble cast.

As this isn't a sweeping romance drama, you can expect standard production values (read: simple cinematography and simple art direction) which are more commonly found on TV movies. This, also isn't a bad thing, because your attention should be on the character's jesting and bantering.

Director Pierre Salvadori, who also co penned the screenplay, is obviously hoping to repeat the success he enjoyed on Priceless five years ago, which also starred Tautou. A romantic comedy like this will be easily enjoyed by the masses, but it may also be conveniently filed into the category of "one of those" French comedies you've watched before.

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This film is about a salon owner who uses a desperately wants her mother to get over her father falling in love with someone 20 years younger. She writes an anonymous love letter to cheer her mother up, with disastrous results.

Throughout the film, "Beautiful Lies" maintains an upbeat and lovable atmosphere. The deceits of beautiful intentions are so beautiful to watch. Emilie is beautiful, charming and mischievous, while Jacques is reserved, intellectual and charming. The mother is vibrant and attractive when her spirits are lifted up. The film is full of love, not just romantic love, but love for friends, acquaintances and parents too. And it is funny as well!

Set in a world of perpetual sunshine in the south of France, BEAUTIFUL LIES (DE VRAIS MENSONGES) has a plot with distinct echoes of CYRANO DE BERGERAC. Former UNESCO translator Jean (Sami Bouajila), now working in a hairdressing salon, writes an anonymous love-letter to owner Emilie (Audrey Tautou). Although not knowing who the author is, Emilie convinces her mother Maddy (Nathalie Baye) that the letter has been written for her mother's benefit: Emilie subsequently writes two more anonymous love-letters for her mother, pretending that they have come from the same author as the first letter. Further complications ensue, but the story ends happily enough.

Pierre Salvadori's film looks at the gulf separating words from meanings: what the characters say - either in written or spoken discourse - and what they actually mean are often two different things. This is especially true of Emilie, who convinces herself that she is acting in her mother's best interests, but ends up being utterly self-absorbed. Her narcissistic nature is summed up by the frequency of shots where she sits in her office, a bottle of vodka in hand, trying to pen new love-letters for her mother. Emilie comes across as a basically unattractive person; in the pre-credit sequence she is shown cutting the fringe off one of her customer's (Cécile Boland's) hair, even though the customer specifically insists otherwise.

By comparison, Maddy is meant to be represented as an innocent victim - unable to come to terms with her ex-husband's (Daniel Duval's) decision to leave her for a younger woman, her life is in pieces, as she sits on the sofa in a nightdress. The prospect of a younger man falling in love with her gives her renewed energy, so much so that, even when Emilie tells her the truth, Maddy still invites Jean round for a romantic dinner for two. But here's the rub - at the end of the evening she decides to bed Jean, while being perfectly aware of his feelings for Emilie. We are left to wonder why: is Maddy taking revenge on her daughter, or is she at heart as self-interested as Emilie?

For the first four-fifths of DE VRAIS MENSONGES, director Salvadori creates a light-as-gossamer romantic comedy with serious undertones in which gesture assumes as much significance as word. The shot/reverse shot sequences involving Emilie and Jean, where the two of them try their best not to disclose their true feelings for one another, are beautifully handled, as is the sequence where Emilie's tongue-tied employee Paulette (Judith Chemla) tries her best to explain something to Emilie while not looking her in the eye. The ending, however, is a bit of a cop-out - although order is restored, we are left to ponder the (lack of) moral scruples influencing the characters' behavior, even that of Jean. One wonders precisely how women are viewed in this apparently liberal society.

Is it a coincidence that Ms. Tautou is named Émilie (sounds like Amélie)? Is it a coincidence that she has the same gamin-tomboy look with her cropped hair as Amelie? Somehow I think it is intentional.

Alas, where the similarities to Amélie are evident they are the only thing they have in common. Unfortunately one similarity that is glaringly missing is the sheer energy of Ms. Tautou's' former director and mentor, Jean-Pierre Jeunet. Whereas Jeunet is like a brightly illuminated comet hurtling through the sky, Pierre Salvadori's style is more akin to a slow moving iceberg. And that is what the film is - an iceberg.

Nearly all good romantic comedies have some essential ingredients: energy, dynamism, warmth, identifiable characters, quick-fire humour and empathy - think Bridget Jones, Notting Hill et al,. Sadly none of these ingredients are present. Not even the exceptional Nathalie Baye is able to drag this film from the doldrums. It is nothing more than a montage of scenes where very little happens or engages the viewer. Clearly Sami Bouajila did his best but his forte is serious drama and that's where he should stay.

The one shining light in the film is Judith Chemla. With her very expressive face and mannerisms she has a promising future.

It is quite sad that Ms. Tautou has concentrated on 'glamour' films since leaving Jeunet - "Coco Before Channel", "Priceless". At heart she is an exceptional comedy actor. Regretfully Salvadori is not the director who can direct and showcase her talents. Unless she wants to stay on the periphery of French cinema Ms. Tautou needs to ask herself how best can she deploy her many talents.