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Heartbreaker review
:. Director: Pascal Chaumeil
:. Starring: Romain Duris, Vanessa Paradis
:. Running Time: 1:45
:. Year: 2010
:. Country: France
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From Priceless to The Girl from Monaco and now Heartbreaker, the French Riviera — more particularly Monaco, Nice and Cannes — and its wealthy players seems to an inexhaustible source for romantic comedies and dramas, which arguably reflects French society's need for escapism and a better life during those quite morose times.
Set in Monaco, this romantic comedy about a middle-class man seducing a rich and beautiful woman is clearly conceived as a naive working class fantasy but the casting of two edgier actors in the lead roles, Romain Duris (The Beat That My Heart Skipped, Paris, Russian Dolls) and actress-singer Vanessa Paradis (Girl on the Bridge) broadens its reach beyond its target audience.
Duris plays Alex, a professional Heartbreaker who gets hired by Juliette's dad to stop her from getting married to a rich and successful man. When the movie starts, we are told that Alex only takes jobs that are supposed to save women from an unhappy life but when he takes on wrecking Juliette's happy relationship, the script seems to turn into a weapon of social vengeance, showing us how a good working class man can triumph over a "perfect" upper class man. I certainly have nothing against that type of message, but the problem is that Heartbreaker bites its own tale. On one hand, the film is built like a predictable fairy tale while, on the other hand, it pokes fun at cheesy cultural icons and movie sequences that should appeal to its core audience.
As a result, Heartbreaker looks like a hybrid manufactured work, trying to digest too many genres that tend to contradict themselves, whether it's in terms of narrative or direction. For example, the film goes for screwball comedy, a mainstream subgenre but at the same time has strong — and more elitist — ironic tones (and to be frank, if you are like me jokes about Dirty Dancing and George Michael are always welcome). The final sequence where the lovers run, out of breath, toward each other is another awkward moment, where you are supposed to both enjoy that cliché and laugh at it at the same time. First-timer Pascal Chaumeil's direction suffers from a strong lack of focus as well, going for a trendy Steven Soderberg's Ocean 11 approach in the first half — chopped editing and obnoxious soundtrack — before slowing down to get into cruise controlled romantic mode.
Beside quite a few amusing moments, what mostly saves Heartbreaker from total wreckage is the presence of Duris and Paradis who, successfully playing against cast here, communicate their fun to the audience. Surrounded by talented supporting actors, they at least manage to provide for an entertaining moment, which you will forget as soon as you will walk out of the theater.
Fred Thom
 French Movies: Reviews 2012 - present
French Films: 1998 - 2011 Reviews
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