“The Trouble With You”– Movie Review

This past week, I attended the opening night of The French Film Festival at The Film Society of Lincoln Center for the New York Premiere of the comedy-drama, “The Trouble With You” (aka, “En liberté!”).

Synopsis

When the widow of a legendary police detective learns the truth about her late husband, can she correct his wrongs and get on with the rest of her life?

Story

The past few years have been difficult for Yvonne (Adèle Haenel).  A young widow, she is living under the memory of her late husband Jean (Vincent Elbaz), a captain at the local police precinct in Francemwhere she also works as a lieutenant.  Jean was hailed as a great hero and after his death while serving his community, a statue is erected in his honor.  Every night, Yvonne tells their son bedtime stories about his father’s heroics so that he will grow up to have fond memories of him.  Sadly, all of this comes to an end when Yvonne learns that Jean was a crooked cop who profited from helping to plan a jewelry store robbery which sent Antoine (Pio Marmaï), one of the jewelers, to prison.

Learning that Antoine is soon to be released, Yvonne pledges to help him integrate himself back into society and rehabilitate.  This will be tricky, however, because she doesn’t want him to know that her husband was the man who wrongly had him incarcerated.  Initially, Antoine returns to his old girlfriend, Agnes (Audrey Tautou), with the expectation that they can both pick up from where they left off.  However, it turns out that imprisonment changed Antoine – and not necessarily for the better.  With this being the case, he realizes that he and Agnes no longer have anything in common and he must now leave her. 

Soon, Yvonne discerns that one of her coworkers, Louis (Damien Bonnard), as a crush on her.  This complicates matters considerably – not only because they work together closely, but also because she has developed an attraction to Antoine after she “saved” him from what she perceived as his attempted suicide.  Alternating between Antoine and Louis, Yvonne has difficulty sorting out her feelings.  When she finds out that Antoine is now planning his own jewelry heist, Yvonne now realizes that it is her duty as a police officer to prevent this crime.  But will she be able to stop Antoine from robbing the jewelry store and in so doing, turn the corner and get over her thoughts of Jean?

Review

The trouble with “The Trouble With You” is its outlandish premise.  As we know well, the French are different from the rest of us. That can be great.  Vive la France! Problems arise, however, when we find that their perspectives clash with our own and it becomes difficult to stay with a given story or cast of characters.   Such is the case with this movie. French films embrace romance and sex (note that the two have been separated), which can be titillating. But sometimes, as in the case with “The Trouble With You”, it can take matters too far and render the tale a bit on the ridiculous side. 

There is no doubt that this movie contains funny moments.  But Yvonne, our heroine, can present a bit of a challenge to root for at times -- largely due to the fact that she is so flighty.  She cannot make up her mind as to whether she wants Louis, Antoine or no one at all since she has been so turned off to Jean. Which one is she in love with?  It doesn’t appear Yvonne even knows, that’s how mixed up she is at this point in her life. At times, the film is charming and amusing, but it can also be a bit grating, too -- this is especially true when trying to resolve the story and things take a turn for the madcap and slapstick. 

Whether you like “The Trouble With You”, hate it or simply leaves you feeling nonplussed, what just about everyone could agree on is that it’s strange.  At this screening, the movie was introduced by director Pierre Salvadori and one of its stars, Pio Marmaï (Antoine). During the introduction, Salvadori shared his experience from the previous screening.  While waiting in line in the men’s room, he overheard two guys talking about his motion picture. “So, what did you think?’, the first one asked; the second responded, “It’s unusual”. The director decided to take that as a favorable review.