David O'ConnellHeartbreaker
December 14th 2010 04:04
A light and breezy comedy that skates along on the charm of its leading man, Pascal Chaumeil’s Heartbreaker is just the tonic for wiping away those post-Christmas blues. The in-demand Romain Duris plays the lead character, Alex, a man possessed with divine gifts when it comes to wooing members of the opposite sex. In conjunction with his sister Melanie (Julie Ferrier) and her husband Marc (Francois Damiens), the trio deftly engineer the downfall of relationships with the married duo pulling all the strings behind the scenes to ensure that every circumstance is contrived to give them the best shot at success.
Alex’s latest target will provide his greatest challenge yet. Juliette Van Der Becq (Vanessa Paradis) is the daughter of a wealthy businessman, and on the verge of tying the knot with young English tycoon, Jonathan (Andrew Lincoln). Her father (Jacques Frantz) thinks Juliette is making a fatal error of judgement and will soon be bored stupid by Jonathan. So he calls upon the most notorious 'Heartbreaker' in the business, Alex, to concoct a means of artificially inducing a fatal fissure in the relationship before her wedding day arrivces.
Though most of his targets fall weak-kneed at his overwhelming charm and masculine presence (like the dissatisfied newlywed in the film’s hilarious prologue), Alex will actually have to work for his cash on this occasion. He desperately needs it too, with a debtor’s towering, monosyllabic goon on his trail looking to break body parts to ensure his boss gets his payday. Posing as a bodyguard commissioned by her father to keep her in cotton wool until the big day, Alex tries to pick up clues about the notoriously secretive Juliette that might give him a glimpse at her internal life.
Paradis and Duris
Best known for his brilliant turn in Jacques Audiard’s masterful Fingers remake The Beat That My Heart Skipped (2005), Duris seems to relish playing against type; the result makes for an impressive change of pace, with Alex and his multi-tasking misadventures scoring laughs for their frenetic optimism and ingenuity. The sensible Melanie and the gangly man-child Marc are doled out a few noteworthy comedic scraps but Heartbreaker is ultimately a vehicle for Duris and Paradis, an unconventional beauty if ever there was one who has convince us of her endearingly retro tastes, namely a love for Dirty Dancing and Wham!
Set mostly against the luscious backdrop of Monaco - recalling Anne Fontaine’s superior and not entirely dissimilar The Girl From Monaco (2008) - the film occasionally relies on very broad humour to win audience laughter, especially in scenes including the tag team of Melanie and Marc. But for the majority, this is Alex’s show and his desperate efforts to claim the heart of Juliette - or at least insert enough daggers of doubt into her mind - in time to spoil her proposed matrimonial euphoria have surprising consequences for both of them.
A silly ending - perhaps more a parody of the genre’s painfully predictable outcomes – may dampen the mood somewhat, but for the most part Heartbreaker successfully outduels its Hollywood counterparts. This is a less flawed model for romantic comedies to follow: slick confection, yes, but also smart, sharp and with enough genuine laughs to flesh out more than the predictably enticing trailer.
Heartbreaker opens in Australian cinemas on December 26.
| 91 |
| Vote |
subscribe to this blog
