Besties: Louis Garrel and Noémie Merlant as Abel and Clemence. Photo / Supplied
Besties: Louis Garrel and Noémie Merlant as Abel and Clemence. Photo / Supplied
Billed as a romantic comedy, French film The Innocent does have a light touch but it’s more a family drama-meets-madcap heist caper – and it’s all the better for it.
Prison drama teacher Sylvie (Anouk Grinberg) falls in love with inmate student Michel (Roschdy Zem) and the pair begin apassionate married life on his release. But Sylvie’s cynical adult son, Abel (the film’s writer-director Louis Garrel), has seen his mother like this before and makes his objections patently clear.
When he suspects that Michel might not have left his criminal life behind, Abel finds himself caught up in the very trouble he wanted to avoid.
Following in the footsteps of his film-maker father Philippe, Garrel directs with the cinematographic panache of the 1960s and 70s in his use of split screen, slow zooms and dissolves, complete with a jaunty score borrowed from Italian horror films.
The three leads are strong, but it’s Noémie Merlant (Portrait of a Lady on Fire) who stuns as Clemence, Abel’s best friend.
Though this heist movie doesn’t break new ground, and isn’t funny in the way the French usually embrace slapstick, the performances are engaging and there’s a sensational scene in a diner that showcases Merlant’s huge talent.
Fast-paced and economically told, the plot unravels somewhat towards the end but The Innocent has, yes, a certain je ne sais quoi.
