Vanessa Ng
They say that money makes the world go round… Director Pierre Salvadori’s latest French flick, Priceless, illustrates this further by showing how 2 mercenary people pursued their desires. Despite the movie’s improbable plot, it still manages to entice its audiences the way cliché and unrealistic fairytales have for decades.
Set in posh and luxurious hotels of French Riviera, the movie takes a light-hearted approach towards the ugly world of the wealthy, where it’s every man for himself. The irony of the story, though, is in the how 2 very different people found love under such circumstances.
Irène (Audrey Tautou, best known in Amelie) is a beautiful and determined gold-digger who charms her way around rich men to live her ideal life of luxury. One night, Irène mistakes Jean (Gad Elmaleh), a destitute but contented bartender, for a rich target. After that night, Jean finds himself mesmerised by Irène. When they meet again a year later, Jean takes the opportunity to woo her and bankrupts himself trying to win her heart. However, despite Jean’s sacrifices, Irène remains a cold fish towards him and does not hesitate to leave him with an empty bank account, a heavy debt and a broken heart.
As fate would have it, Jean runs into a widowed rich older woman, Madeleine (Marie-Christine Adam) who offers him the male version of Irène’s job. Bankrupt and broken-hearted, he plays along and gets clothed and fed by his new sugar-mommy.
Jean’s persistence results in a whirlwind love chase as both Jean and Irène lead separate lives with their wealthy partners while secretly longing for each other. Although their attraction to each other is apparent, Irène still yearns to live off wealthy men who can afford her extravagant lifestyle. In order to fulfil Irène’s goals, the surreptitious couple had to resort to mere knowing glances and clandestine meetings whenever their paths cross.
Although the storyline sounds very much like a true blue love story, it has its comical moments as well. As the film progresses, Irène teaches Jean the tricks of the trade to maximise what he can get from Madeleine.
Comedian-actor Elmaleh is convincing as guileless Jean and draws a few laughs as he attempts to pout his way to get what he wants.For example, his sulk once got him a $30 000 diamond watch. However, it is still Tautou who steals the show.
Tautou, whose claim to international fame was her award-winning performance in Amelie, is more recently known as Sophie Neveu in The Da Vinci Code. The role of Irène is superficial yet saccharine and can’t be delivered by any inept actress.
I am grateful that Tautou played such an unlovable role with such dainty competence and sophisication that it puts some of Hollywood’s highest paid actresses to shame. Her performance, if anything, is spectacular. Guys would be delighted to know that Tautou bares a lot of skin in the film with plunging necklines and couture silk gowns.
As much as I hate to admit it, I can be a sucker for French romantic comedies, especially against such a splendid backdrop. Parallels can be drawn from the Audrey Hepburn’s classic, Breakfast at Tiffany’s, but it’s definitely a less notable effort by comparison. If the movie hadn’t been in set in France, the country of romance or if the cast were any less likable, it would have turned into a cheesy attempt at a romantic comedy. There’s also something about watching a film in a foreign language that makes the movie’s jokes come across as mirthful. So no matter how shallow and banal the storyline is, I loved it for everything else.
Priceless will not blow you away with originality but it will probably succeed in putting a smile on your face. Of course, the ultimate question here is whether, like all fairytales, this one ends with a happy ending, where love is really priceless to the extent of triumphing over the love of money.
Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars
Movie Details
Opens: May 10
Runtime: 103 mins
Language: French (English Subtitles)
Cast: Audrey Tautou, Gad Elmaleh, Marie-Christine Adam, Vernon
Dobtcheff, Jacques Spiesser, Annelise Hesme
Director: Pierre Salvadori
Pictures Courtesy: Shaw Organisation