A great little film. I think the French have perfected the art of making drama/comedy/romance films that have light fluffy moments but are also quite deep and philosophical at times. This film is the perfect example of this. And I guess, also quite common in these types of French films − there is a love scene within the first five minutes of the film! The original French title, Ils se marièrent et eurent beaucoup d'enfants, can be translated as “they married and had many children” − the French equivalent of “they lived happily ever after”, which I guess also highlights the significant role that children and family have in French culture.
This film stars the wonderful Charlotte Gainsbourg, who is just magnetic − there is something about her that draws your attention whenever she is on screen. And of course, I can’t hide the fact that Johnny Depp also has a cameo in this film because if it weren’t for him then I don’t think I would have come across this charming film (which would be a shame).
The film is about the nature of love and marriage as experienced by three different men − one of them sleeps with a different woman every day, another is constantly arguing with his wife who is portrayed as a feminist of sorts, while the third is married but having an affair. I should also mention the third guy, Vincent, (who is married to Charlotte Gainsbourg’s character, Gabrielle), is played by Yvan Attal, who also wrote the script and directed the film − and is married to Charlotte Gainsbourg off-screen! So not surprisingly, they had a great chemistry on-screen, particularly in the food fight scene, which is just hilarious:
I also like the way the fight is intercut with footage of the horse chase in the film they were watching. Also, a running gag throughout the film is Vincent’s attempts to scare both his son and wife (which often happens when Gabrielle is bathing their son, so the son gets scared and splashes his mother, who then becomes angry at him!). There are plenty more clever moments like this in the film, such as when Vincent is with his wife, who asks him “Do you love me?” and he replies something like: “Yes, but I also love my wife”, and then we see he is suddenly with his mistress, who must have asked him the same question. The film is almost multi-protagonist although it focuses more on the relationship between Gabrielle and Vincent.
So now, on to Depp’s cameo, which just had me both cringing and laughing − it was a great addition to the film. The first time we encounter Depp’s character is when Gabrielle is listening to a CD in a store and he comes up and also puts on a set of headphones. To the soundtrack of Radiohead’s “Creep”, we see a few minutes of awkwardness mixed with attraction as the two share glances. And I have to say, the music suits perfectly and Depp’s smile was just, wow. We don’t see Depp again until the end of the film, when Gabrielle, who is a real estate agent, takes him to an apartment inspection. Depp seems to speak French very fluently and their conversation is quite amusing, and the lift ride is so over-the-top and dramatic, that it’s one of my favourite scenes. It becomes this fantastical trip that is actually the last scene of the film, so we never really know what happens between Gabrielle and Depp:
Another great scene (there seem to be a lot in this well-written film!), is when Gabrielle is actually sitting next to her husband’s mistress in a restaurant (unknowingly, of course). Vincent actually calls both of them in the scene, and many times it seems like his wife is about to find out but it seems like only the mistress discovers who she was sitting next to. This scene reminded me of another film but I can’t put my name to it − for some reason, another film I think of is Lantana though I don’t exactly know why.
Also, just as a little side note, I am a little confused in one scene, where there was an older woman and her husband having dinner at a restaurant − I couldn’t figure out the relevance. Maybe I just lost concentration for a bit but yeah, I don’t know the point of that scene, or who it was depicting. Anyway, that is just a minor qualm in an otherwise entertaining and engaging film about romantic ideals and love (not surprising, given the title) and one that I highly recommend.
4.5/5
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