MRMOVIESETC
REVIEWS:
“The Intouchables”
(2011)
Wow, a film that cracks light-hearted jokes about a
disabled person? How have all copies of this not been burned yet?
***
I don’t really have the patience or the temperament to
answer those questions without going on a long-winded rant, so I’ll just skip
all that. What I will talk about, though, is how “Intouchables” is witty, sometimes even hilarious, and you should absolutely watch it sometime as
long as you do not mind the whole subtitles thing.
Although, besides the fact that it’s comical and
smile-inducing throughout its entirety, that’s not really the most
interesting thing about it; rather, it was the film’s approach to the subject
material at hand that gives makes it enjoyable. What I mean by that is the fact
that Directors Olivier Nakache and Eric Toledano opted to make the film so straightforward and focused on the
two main leads that, despite all the potential baggage both of them carry that
could have easily come into play, they conversely decided to stay away from that temptation
to the degree of making the movie feel like an introvert shying away from
confrontation.
Forgive my going on a small side street here, but this is
where I often struggle from a critiquing standpoint, because I cannot count how
many times I have scored against a film’s decision to avoid those opportunities, from where I sat at least, was a failure to explore new areas
of depth in the screenplay; sometimes to the degree of getting a little pissed
off. In the case of “Intouchables”, however, I find myself giving all of that a
pass since the formula works, with a big credit going to the two leads riffing
beautifully off of each other, and the directors sticking to their guns and saying, “Hey, we want this to be a (dark-ish) comedy with a feel good vibe, so let’s just do
that.” Alternatively, I would have been fine if it had taken a few of those
darker avenues along the way, but like I said, it worked even if the screenplay
isn’t that deep, so no necessary need to fix it.
Story-wise, Omar Sy plays Driss, an ex-con whom is fresh
out of a six month stint in prison, and he needs to prove he’s been applying
for employment so he can receive some benefits from the government. One of the
places he stops at is a live-in caregiver position for a wealthy, middle-age
hotel owner named Philippe (Francois Cluzet), who is wheelchair-bound due to being paralyzed
from the neck down. Driss makes it clear throughout the interview process that
he absolutely has no interest in working there and that he only wants Philippe’s
signature on his parole document, and perhaps an intimate encounter with
Philippe’s extremely attractive assistant, Magalie (Audrey Fleurot), whom he makes a few
passes out before leaving. Much to his surprise, Philippe offers Driss the job
on a probationary basis at first, because he sees Driss as somebody incapable
of offering much in the way of empathy, which is exactly how he wants to be
treated versus being coddled and spoken down to like a helpless child from formal caregivers.
At first the relationship is awkward because Driss says
pretty much everything that comes to his mind without filter, whilst Philippe
still has that proper etiquette and his high society friends that cannot help
but remind him how much of a mismatch Driss is to the environment and surely he must be making a mistake. As these
things go, the two develop a strong bond and go on their share of one miscellaneous
adventure after the next with humorous exchanges and results. More importantly,
again, while the film often pretends that the pressures of the outside world do
not exist in a way that they almost always would, it does do a pretty good job
with the character development for both Driss and Philippe. For instance, Driss
helps Philippe come to terms with the deeply-rooted insecurities and
resentments of his disability, and Philippe helps Driss understand that he’s not
a one-dimensional guy that has a serious knack for mentoring and the arts. Sure,
this is something has been done in film countless times, but the cast’s buying in
is what makes this one worth investing time. Besides, it’s always
interesting to see the barriers of two good-nature individuals with cocky
dispositions get worn down at the will of one another’s viewpoints or antics.
Speaking of which, both Omar Sy and Francois Cluzet are
brilliant in this film. It’s one thing to be good, great, or award-notable, but
it is a whole other thing entirely to appear effortless, and while that may not
always equate in the same manner as, say, an Oscar nomination would, these kinds
are genuinely my favorite. Watching these two on screen, you would think Sy and
Cluzet have been best friends for years much like the two real life men the
characters are based on. Hell, half of the movie could have been Driss and
Philippe sitting in a room discussing politics and I would still be sucked into
it. I also talked about how Driss had a
particular interest in Magalie, well, this continues off and on, and while it comes across as sleazy at first, Magalie starts playing the game, and they are some of the funniest scenes - at Driss’s expense.
Of course, I’m not going to lie to you and say the film
is perfect. There’s some intermittent dialogue between Driss and Philippe,
mainly by about sex, which is derivative compared to any you-name-it comedies and felt far below each’s threshold,
and a few scenes of mini-conflicts, one involving suicide,
that were resolved rather easily. I mean, it’s
one thing to not explore or shrug those to the side, but if addressed, there
should be at least some effort and difficulty added to the equation. Just my
two cents.
Overall, could “Intouchables” have tried to go a bit bolder
with the material? Sure. Although, to do so, it would have created an entirely
different film with an entirely different atmosphere. I can’t help but think my
mind is going to ponder what could have happened in that scenario, but nonetheless,
I cannot hardly complain seeing as “Intouchables” made me smile for nearly two
hours. I certainly recommend it, especially if you’re needing a break from what
passes as comedy these days or the onslaught of depression Hollywood is convinced
the world needs.
“The Intouchables”: 8/10
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