English Title: Priceless
Original Title: Hors de prix
Year: 2006
Country: France
Language: French
Genre: Romance
Director: Pierre Salvadori
Writers: Pierre Salvadori, Benoit Graffin
Music: Camille Bazbaz, David Hadjadj
Cinematography: Gilles Henry
Cast:
Audrey Tautou
Gad ElmalehMarie-Christine Adam
Vernon Dobtcheff
Annelise Hesme
Jacques Spiesser
Rating: 5.9/10
This is a light and seemingly innocuous romantic comedy. A straightforward love story between a deadpan hotel waiter (Gad) and a materialistic gold-digger (Audrey) whose sole life purpose is to find an old but rich man to pay for the bills of her high-priced lifestyle. Without didactic persuasion, this film surprisingly contrives another plot to turn Gad into a money boy as well (though the process is bound to crudity and in lack of credibility). With the premise that as long as for true love, one should not feel ashamed of selling himself for money, clearly there is a double moral criteria here between man and woman (I have a grudge against the film as it gives a very bad example of showing its audiences how easy an ordinary man could be hooked up by an elder rich lady). The rich people in the film is never fully-developed that’s why the whole story is closer to a modern day fairy-tale.
Audrey Tautou manages to show her glamor gracefully in spite of her role’s repugnant character, her acting is convincing and watchable, at the same time Gad Elmaleh’s also proves his charm with a slower pace. So when it comes to the predictable finale, I have no further complain about it.
Details in the film reveal a lot of effort of the director and writers, such as the little blue umbrella, a set piece of one euro, the prevarication scheme etc. Anyway it is a typical French romance, with a high moral standard in the end, there is no need to ponder upon its procedures.
Cinema Omnivore 