If my kid read this review she would certainly kill me. Jokes apart, for French teenagers "L'amour ouf" (Breaking Hearts) is indeed an upcoming cult film which could be compared to "La Boum" (The Party - 1980- with Sophie Marceau). The gangster part and the story of a revenge in the background can't mislead us, it's first and foremost a teenage film with all the ingredients it usually features (romance, heartbreaks and struggle for love). For sure, the director has put a lot of himself in it (like the music he's loved, cinema references almost at every take , an appreciated sensitivity when it comes to intimate scenes and all the memories of the 80's and 90's : telephone booth's scenes among others things that might trigger sympathy and laughters from nowadays teenagers). This being said, it does not stand out for its originality yet a little bit for his style (but only at times). Above all, it's a film which does not withstand an adult's critic especially when it comes to analyse the verisimilitude of its plot and the good (or bad) taste of its filming (a lot, in fact too many camera effects) .
I don't want to lash out at Gilles Lellouch who is a fantastic actor, who looks like a humble and good person, and who is, after all, a good director as "Le Grand Bain" (Sink or Swim), his previous film (however less personal), showed us. "Breaking Hearts" on the other hand, is way more personal, but way less funny, entertaining at the very best but not much more than that. And that's the problem because you can clearly tell that the director wanted it to be something big. Gilles Lellouch is very "heavy-handed" when it comes to gangster scenes, bunch of friends' scenes and love scenes as well (even if one love scene on the beach is simply beautiful), and the same thing happens when it comes to dialogs (the sentences, phrases are very...very written). At the end of the film, you may think it does not reach the standard of a cult movie, you'll never ever approach to think it's a master-piece and you also wonder if it was really worth 32 billion budget.
Nevertheless, after a few months after its release it has already been a cultural phenomenon here in France from which tik tok and social networks have cashed in. It's a fact, after a few clicks on the net (and a few French knowledge) you will find the replay of all the emblematic scenes , some smart "ass" would decipher the (very written) sentences and phrases of the heroe of the film: Jacky (played by Adèle Exachopoulos and a young promising actress: Mallory Wanecque). But it does not mean it's a great film. It's an average film done with heavy manners, heavy effects and an insisting nostalgia over the 80's and 90's represented by its music.
Something does not work...despite the astonishing cast and the very expensive actors (some of them with rather trivial parts ). The director relies too much on the weight of his stars, the weights of his words (the "cult" sentences fall short ) and too less on the power of the story or the input of supporting roles. Apart from Alain Chabat and his touching role as a widow father, the supporting roles are not to be remembered (and it has nothing to do with their performance because Vincent Lacoste is brilliant as the "vilain" but his character is just trivial and not important). Quite a pity for all these actors who thought they would be part of a great adventure (cult film...master piece etc). It's clearly a fail on that aspect.
From the very first pictures of the film, you can tell the director is doing way too much to trigger empathy, nostalgy over the 90's and make us feel this powerful love deep in our bones. Too much music, too much dance (copied from West Side Story ?), too much camera effects. Clichés are everywhere, it's one stereotype after another just as if he wanted to give his audience what it was expecting.
In addition to this overdose of music, there is what I would call a very personal depiction of the 80's-90's which seem cool (it's fun to be brought back to theses memories with the recording tape and fake phone calls), but the decade is americanized with Gilles Lellouche's eyes (especially in the way pupils take the bus to go to school or ride their motorbikes after school). You wonder if this is done on purpose because the original book took place in England (but England is not the States right ?) or if it's to make his audience comfortable with American clichés. The problem is that everything is like that. The family relationships are manichean (a beaten child stopps school and no one says nothing to him), the adventure scenes are very gendered (the girls hold their nose when they dive whereas the boys make a backflip), and basically everything from beginning to end is very classic (the bad kid climbs up on old cars and is able to beat up adults despite being weak and skinny).
The discovery of the rising stars Mallory Wanecque and Malik Frikah could make you forget all this cliché mania. In fact, the first act is saved by the performances of the two young stars. The first part of the film, despite being manichean and very often silly (but no need to be credible when it comes to gangsters, first love and street fights right ?) is quite brilliant. This incandescent love is pictured quite well, in a classic way but with style and dynamism. You expect a beautiful ending to it (you actualy thrive to see the two stars of the film: Adèle Exarchopoulos and François Civil from whom you expect to bring something new, more modern, after 12 years of gap in the plot).
The problem is that it is stricly the contrary that happens. François Civil and Adèle Exachopoulos bring nothing new, their performances are almost held back... with less intensity than their younger counterparts. I often told myself that they were not really playing a role but just acting like their own personality... and they are not helped with the megalomania of the director that can't help to do too much to emphasize their love, their fate and their beauty, making long (too long) scenes focusing on their face. This, is being perfectly represented by Adèle Exachopoulos's first scene: after an hour or so she enters in this film in the "simplest way possible", dancing on a trendy night club dance floor by moving her head with sensuality and touching her untied hair. Did you get the picture ?
This image rings a bell (to me at least), and suddenly all the references Gilles Lellouch calls out are revealed.
The very long discotec dance's scene of "Mektoub my love" (of Abdelatif Kechiche), West Side Story (the loving dance scene of the teenagers), Dirty Dancing and "Hatred" (La Haine) (with the three lads sitting on a building roof). Clichés, solid cinema references, and a great soundtrack, this is what this film is made of. All in all it looks like the perfect recipe for teenagers, a cheesy gift offered to them with no limit over the budget and two fantastic picks (that's for sure): (way better than the famous stars of this film !): Mallory Wanecque and Malik Frikah. Hats off for their two performances. Thanks to them you want to see more of this film that the ending should please youngsters and despair other people with more experience in cinema.
