the pathetic caverns - movies by title - He Loves Me, He Loves Me Not

eclectic reviews and opinions

He Loves Me, He Loves Me Not looks quite deliberately packaged to capitalize on the appeal of Amelie. Star Audrey Tatou is front-and-center on the box, smiling her idiosyncratically winsome, big-eyed smile, surrounded by roses. And after the first fifteen minutes or so, you could be excused for thinking you had figured out the film's arc: Angelique (Tatou) will be ill-used by her older cardiologist boyfriend Loic (Samuel Le Bihan). She will probably find solace with her earnest young medical student pal, David (Clément Sibony) -- unless perhaps the twist is that he winds up with Angelique's pal Rachel (Isabelle Carré). If Tatou's character seems markedly less charming than in Amelie, that's probably just because this a lesser, derivative movie.

But director Laetitia Colombani and co-scripter Caroline Thivel have quite a different agenda, and packaging this movie to resemble a pleasant, but slight, romantic comedy is about as responsible as filling a bottle of aspirin with barbiturates. Make no mistake: this is not a typical "date movie." The narrative structure has a few odd spins, but ultimately I think it plays fair, if a bit roughly, with the viewer. The ending is a bit weak, but it does include an excellent sight gag. The movie's deviousness is decidedly related to its theme, and for whatever it's worth, I liked the film better after I spent some time thinking about it than right as the credits rolled.

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