Winner of the Best Screenplay at the Cesar Awards (the French Oscars), The Innocent is a comedic crime caper mixed with romance.
Sylvie Lefranc (Anouk Grinberg) is a 60-year-old prison drama teacher that can’t help herself. She has a habit of falling head over heels in love with and then marrying the inmates, which inevitably ends badly. Much to her son Abel’s (Louis Garrel) chagrin, Sylvie is up to her old tricks again, this time with smooth talking thief Michel Ferrand (Roschdy Zem). Understandably, the recently widowed Abel is deeply suspicious, but no amount of protestation from him will prevent Sylvie from marrying Michel in jail.
Abel opens up to his best friend, Clémence Genièvre (Noémie Merlant), who was also his wife’s best mate. Abel and Clémence work together in an aquarium and Abel will do whatever it takes to protect his mother. In turn, Sylvie surprises Abel when she decides to abandon drama teaching to open a florist shop. There Abel discovers incriminating evidence suggesting that upon his release Michel has not abandoned his old ways. A bungled stake out follows. Then the narrative takes off in a surprising and kooky direction.
Co-written and directed by Louis Garrel, The Innocent is a film I would describe as a pleasurable watch … to a point. The premise is a good one, but it doesn’t quite fit together the way it could have. I thought it lost a beat in the run home. In its attempt to be clever and catch the audience out, it zagged too often.
The pick of the performers is Noémie Merlant (who won the Cesar for Best Supporting Actress for this role). She brings a joyous disposition to Clémence. There is also unmistakably chemistry between Garrel and Merlant. The relationship between Abel and Clémence forms a central component of the plot. His restraint is a sharp contrast to her joie de vivre. Clearly, the pair is drawn to one another. Anouk Grinberg is deliberately over-the-top as the woman who loves to love, while Roschdy Zem is charming and calculating as Michel.
I suggest the best way to enjoy The Innocent is to let is wash over you as a bit of funny nonsense.
Alex First
Other reviews you might enjoy:
- Monsieur Chocolat – movie review
- The Three Musketeers: D’Artagnan – movie review
- Haute Couture – movie review
Alex First is a Melbourne based journalist and communications specialist. He contributes to The Blurb on film and theatre.
