| Ils se marièrent et eurent beaucoup d'enfants |
 The direct English translation for this film is "They married and had lots of children", however in the US it is given the title "Happily Ever After". Released in 2004 and starring director Yvan Attal, his real-life wife Charlotte Gainsbourg, Alain Chabat, Alain Cohen and Emmanuelle Seigner; this turned out to be a truly likeable gem of a film.It revolves, in a Woody Allen-esque sort of a way, around the married lives of Vincent (Attal) and Georges (Chabat) and the life of their single friend, Fred (Cohen). The two married men, frustrated by the restrictions marriage and family have placed upon their lives, look on with envy as their unremarkable looking friend seduces a succession of beautiful women, sometimes twice in one day. The bantering dialogue between the three men is a definite comedic highlight of the film, with Chabat gaining the largest share of the laughs exploring the deep mid-life crisis of Georges. His wife, played with relish by Emmanuelle Seigner, is bitter, sabre-tongued and on a rampage of feminism. She insists on purchasing their son gender neutral toys and Chabat is delightfully outraged as his son drowns out the TV news with his new toy vacuum cleaner. Vincent loves his wife Gabrielle (Gainsbourg) and their young son but this does not prevent him from taking a mistress and falling in love with her too. This infidelity is kept a secret from everyone in Vincent's life. Fred is dismissive of his friend's admiration and he himself is envious of their domestic stability and marital companionship. The concept of the grass always being greener on the other side of the fence is the one that underpins almost everything that happens in this film. There is also the insistent question of what defines a happy, satisfying and successful marital partnership. Vincent's infidelity occurs despite him sharing an affectionate and playful relationship with his wife. The epic foodfight between the pair, played out against the shootout from Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, is fabulously messy and brought out a few belly laughs in our house. As funny as the foodfight is, you are aware that the couple have used it as a way of avoiding a confrontation over marital discord. As the film progresses we focus more on Gabrielle and realise she intuitively knows that her husband is cheating on her. Her unease at what the future holds leads to her having daydreams of future infidelities all her own. The scene with her meeting an alluring stranger (Johnny Depp) in a record shop and sharing 3 minutes of unspoken nervous chemistry to the sound of Radiohead's Creep over their headphones is particularly effective. The cast are all tremendously good here, Gainsbourg especially, and backed by a great soundtrack and stylish yet unobtrusive direction create a film well worth seeing. It's not a perfect film and won't be to absolutely everyone's taste but nobody does adultery quite like the french. |
|
| Written by Kevin | |
| Monday, 16 June 2008 |
Dun Eidyn Digital Design
Edinburgh, Scotland | 07740 973 112
© 2008 Kevin Miller. All rights reserved.
Edinburgh, Scotland | 07740 973 112
© 2008 Kevin Miller. All rights reserved.
