SHALL WE KISS?: THE COMPLICATIONS OF ROMANCE
October 12th 2009 07:28
Virginie Ledoyen and Emmanuel Mouret make love look hard in Shall We Kiss?
The rise of Emmanuel Mouret as a filmmaker is simply another round in the decades long game of cinematic ping-pong that has taken place between France and the US. Mouret’s romantic comedy of errors style is a natural progression of Woody Allen, who was himself influenced by the picnic blanket philosophy of Frenchman Eric Rohmer.
Mouret of course shares Allen’s propensity to jump in front of the camera, fleshing out the creations he himself writes and directs. And he also shares a great deal of the New Yorker’s acting style, with Mouret’s Nicolas – the protagonist in Shall We Kiss? – being as hamstrung about the foibles of everyday life as Alvy Singer was in Annie Hall.
Shall We Kiss? is set up as a story within a story. When the Gabriel (Michaël Cohen) meets Émilie (Julie Gayet) on the streets of Nantes, a chivalrous drive home and subsequent dinner turns suddenly towards an innocent kiss – a kiss Émilie refuses.
Obliged to explain herself, Émilie relates the tale of two best friends since childhood, Nicolas and Judith (Virginie Ledoyen) – she happily married to Claudio (Stefano Accorsi), he single and starved for affection. When the two engineer a cure for Nicolas’s loneliness, a seemingly innocent kiss sparks an emotional chain reaction that quickly hurtles out of control.
So starts an oddball comedy of manners as Nicolas and Judith attempt to scratch a way out of their predicament. But as Émilie relates the story to Gabriel, things could be in danger of repeating themselves.
Mouret has a clever way of writing a screenplay. His films are full of philosophical ramblings and it’s the case with Shall We Kiss?, with Nicolas giving voice to the mind-bending musings on love that zap through the brain of anybody in a romantic clinch.
But the film never gets bogged down by its talky moments and there are long scenes – beautifully filmed with a sure hand by cinematographer Laruent Desmet – where the only expression is a hilarious awkward physicality as Nicolas wrestles with Judith over longings of the flesh.
This balance of the verbal and physical is cleverly done, and Mouret’s framing device of Gabriel and Émilie plus the inspired use of the music of Schubert and Tchaikovsky lends the tale a fable-like nature, allowing the viewer to sail through some of the more unlikely moments.
Nicolas comes up with some imaginative methods to rid himself of his attraction for Judith in Shall We Kiss.
That’s not to say Shall We Kiss? is all soufflé fluff. Mouret has plenty to say about the dark side of adultery, and Nicolas and Judith actions have consequences that hit home with a quiet but distinct thud. It marks a subtle but nice switch-up for the genre, with modern French comedy too often carrying plenty of charm and not enough true wit or subtext.
The players are excellent too. Mouret is frequently priceless as the awkward Nicolas, his knack for physical comedy coming to the fore in scenes such as an attempt to order a prostitute from a teachers’ staff room and another where he and Judith first kiss. Virginie Ledoyen is also excellent as the wide-eyed and innocent Judith, while Julie Gayet summons all of her considerable charisma to suck both Gabriel and the audience into Émilie’s story.
While perhaps not quite up to the deft standards of his previous effort, Change of Address, Shall We Kiss? still manages to confirm Emmanuel Mouret’s reputation as the new Allen or Rohmer. His skill at describing the confusion of love makes this kick in the pants for a slightly stale genre well worth seeing.
Take a look at Cibbuano's review on 20/20 Filmsight here.
Check out the trailer below:
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Mountain Fog
Comment by Mountain Fog
Infognito
Screen Trek
QUOTE ME NO QUOTES!
Loved this;
Woody Allen, who was himself influenced by the picnic blanket philosophy of Frenchman Eric Rohmer.
And I love French films, I'm doing a review of Amelie soon.
cheers
fog
Comment by Matt Shea
Comment by David O'Connell
20/20 Filmsight
Screen Fanatic
Comment by Matt Shea