User reviews

Original scenario. Lellouch did really great with this movie, one of the best scenario and movie of the year. Great Nostalgie starting from the opening font style. Picture, music, image all other the movie is a great memory of the 80s and 90s.

The "kids" are playing very well, looking forward new movies, they are to become great actors. I was a bit afraid of Exarchopoulos as usually I don't really like her but she does pretty well on her scenes which are pretty made for her. Chabat is obviously great as the GOAT he is, i remind me of Didier at the start for thise who know, you'll know. Civil is perfect in the role, this dark style fits him very well.

I was so excited about watching this movie directed by Gilles Lellouch and casted with Adele exarchopoulos and Francois Civil who I really appreciated. There is every ingredient there to make a French Bockbuster but they missed it. The first part is far too long to set the scene of their young lives and love. After a while we wonder if we did not access the wrong projection room. Plus we start feeling the frustration for not having seen any of Adele and Francois after an hour. If this 1st loooong part was intended, the movie should have been in 2 releases. Because I do think, although too long, it was a good one.

The second part of their adult life is not credible in many aspects and not enough exciting. I found the adaptation of the script rather weak. Plus I did not feel any connection with this reunion love story. As to the end it was too easy. It's a pity as I feel we missed here the opportunity here to have a great movie.

Well done to Mallory Wanecque as Jackie and Malik Frikah as Clotaire young who offer a great performance.

The film is very long and pretty uneven between its first part when the characters are teenagers and the second part, ten years later.

The acting is really good. The young actors are fresh and genuine. Adele and François are top. Alain Chabat is a big teddy bear and as usual, you want to punch Benoit Poolvoorde.

The musical background really sets the 80's tone in small industrial French town. Mostly British and American songs but so grounded in the era.

You end the film with a smile on your face.

It is not the best film of the year but a beautiful crazy passionate love story. Despite being uneven, you follow Clotaire and Jackie all the way.

The movie is about 3 hours long with some mediocre acting here and there (im talking about Malaury and Malik here, he at least has some interesting and entertaining scenes and actually resembles the acting done by his older self) but besides that the cinematography, done by Laurent Tangy, the music selection the story, the shocking scenes, the charm and warmth of certain scenes, the atmosphere, honestly make this movie a special and unique experience, if you have a significant other go watch it together, it ups the experience a whole lot more. The fact that i saw this movie with my girlfriend really increased the experience.

This movie is all style, no substance. It's an over-stylized, visually creative crime romance that somehow manages to be both emotionless and painfully cliché. Sure, there are some striking scenes that momentarily wowed me, but as soon as the movie ended, I forgot all of them. Why? Because for visuals to stick, they need to be tied to strong characters and meaningful story beats. They also need some level of consistency and repetition instead of just being random one-off moments scattered throughout the film. That said, these creative visuals do keep the movie from being boring, even as it drowns in clichés.

François Civil, Adèle Exarchopoulos, and their younger counterparts, Malik Frikah and Mallory Wanecque, all give solid performances, but I couldn't bring myself to care about their characters or their love story. They're just walking stereotypes-defined by a few traits, but not fully realized as people. Clotaire claims he ended up the way he did because of his rough upbringing, but the film never really backs that up. Jacqueline (Jackie) starts off clever, but her intelligence is quickly forgotten and never plays a role in the story. Her father, supposedly a kind and wise figure, never really impacts her life in any way. I guess he's just there to contrast Clotaire's unloving father and justify why she doesn't get involved in crime? That's it? Easily some of the worst character development I've seen in a while.

The themes are somehow even more cliché and uninspired than the characters and story. It tries to be about young love and its (in this case, meaningless) lifelong impact, but that doesn't land due to weak character work. Then, it throws in commentary on the economy, unemployment, and the bureaucracy of full-time jobs. It sprinkles in themes of female agency and family dysfunction. But none of these ideas actually resonate because they aren't built on strong storytelling or compelling characters.

At its core, this isn't a movie about themes, characters, or even the story. It's a movie about flashy visual creativity and tired genre tropes thrown in just for the sake of it. Sure, the cinematography and production design are impressive, but without the right characters and story, they don't land. I assume some of these shots will end up as shareable clips on social media, and honestly, that's where they work best. Watch it for the visuals-just don't expect anything more.

The first part, with the kids, is pretty good. The film should have ended there for the sake of audience. And Gilles Lellouche would have directed one of the best French teenage romances of the decade.

The rest of the movie, the second act, is horrible. The actors François Civil and Adèle Exarchopoulos lack chemistry together, their acting in this movie are bland and without compromise. I suspect both actors should start rethinking their own careers in French cinema once the two newcomers Mallory Wanecque and Malik Frikah outshine them and steal the show in this confusing mediocre movie.

At first it seems the movie strikes as a modern take of The Count of Monte Cristo .. I mean the old story of the wronged young rebel guy who returns for revenge and the search for his loved one. However it falls out with exaggerated and caricatured toxic masculinity. A stylized and tacky male gaze. And in the half and end of second act the plot ends up losing credibility.

The problem, beyond the burden of everything, is the strange determination that the film shows in claiming originality in each shot it offers without achieving it even once. Every time it comes to deciding,it always opt for the most formal, the most obvious. What we have already seen. And so, it repeats, for three hours of the closest thing to a French blockbuster, with a good marketing and PR behind it, it is that the French audiences are going to see this year.

Gilles Lellouche's near 3-hour epic crime romance adventure is quite ambitious. For Lelouche to explore some interesting themes about crime, angsty, love, and the extremely energetic tone, it's an accomplishment of French cinema in this current times.

Lellouche does offer some great aspects about it's concept. The strong performances, beautiful colorful production, tone, and camerawork really helps establish the environment, tone and setting. Unfortunately, what prevents it from being an epic masterpiece is the writing and structure. Oftentimes, Lellouche applies too much into the narrative. It's clear what the story is wanting to express and there are some pretty good aspects about it. But with a narrative that feels unnecessary stretched out and having characters that don't feel too emotionally connectable doesn't do much service to what Lellouche would have wanted.

I do appreciate some of the ambitious take Lellouche does. The fact he was able to capture the time period perfectly and have a good pacing does show the passion. But it's style over substance moments ends up over staying it's welcome. Realistically, this movie didn't have to be near 3-hours.

Genuinely I expected a lot from this movie for 3 months and honestly I'm feel very disappointed from the script cause it's very bad and boring you don't expecting finally and type of story explain and happen like that cause there was a very good pitch and great potential in order to get one best story love of cinema industry, too bad !

First to all the pitch of the script it's great, you got all to making a such good story to tolling to an audience but unfortunately the way of manage the script played bad by screenwriters... cause the old period who explain the childhood it's nice but too long and you feel boring cause so many things happened and it' very useful to show and explain like 30 minutes to show the past will be great but 1 h and 15 minutes it's too long !!!

You expecting the movie will be relaunch when you see the old children's on adult people well.. note nothing move everything it's too slow, not so much action, then the main character could do a redemption about his old trouble, to do a revenge against all people who betrayed him but he didn't ... I mean that the story will be better with ideas and it's so disappointed that the dramatic scene was not enough present very bad cause it will be great story !!!

And about the script the two mains actors that we love, play only 20 minutes together, it's not enough for a movie very long of 2 h 40 minutes and too bad cause we expected anymore moments with these two actors, very bad point ...

The directing, soundtrack, playing lights and colors form the crew it's only the good points of the movie with also the nice acting from all the cast but for me the very bad points it's the script very slow and too long that it killed the movie... cause an alternative of some others ideas will be great but it didn't happened...

Thank you Gilles Lelouche for your great directing but your screenwriters and the different choices did by them killed the movie even if this story from a book and you can't to create the ideas that you want ...

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.