Élisa (1995)
Directed by Jean Becker

Film Review

Élisa is a clumsy but well-intentioned variation on the Lolita theme.  The suggestion of incest earned the film a certain notoriety on its initial release in France, but this shock value has since lost its impact and, generally, the film appears somewhat kitsch and dated.

The film was an obvious attempt to launch the acting career of the young model-cum-singer Vanessa Paradis, and it is apparent throughout that this is the film's main (some would argue sole) raison-d'être.  Paradis' acting ability, or rather the lack of it, is all too noticeable, and this seriously handicaps the film throughout, particularly in its more dramatic sequences.  It has to be said, that Paradis' role in this film is extraordinarily demanding, and her performance, although unlikely to win many awards, is not nearly as weak as Jean Becker's somewhat half-hearted direction.

Where the film is most deficient is in capitalising on the drama inherent in the plot.  Rather than developing some of the more interesting strands into a compelling narrative, it is more content to flip lazily from one implausible situation to another.   In contrast to Becker's previous film, the highly recommended L'Été meurtrier (1983), Élisa is marred by weaknesses on both narrative and characterisation fronts. None of the characters entirely rings true and the plot just seems to drift without any idea where it is heading.

Fans of Vanessa Paradis will doubtless love this film, in which she appears with that icon of 1990s French cinema, Gérard Depardieu.  The pairing is not as disastrous as you might expect, with Depardieu somehow managing to bring out the best in his far younger co-star. Paradis's performance isn't as convincing as in her previous (debut) film Noce blanche (1989), but the script is mostly to blame for this.

Film Synopsis

When her husband walks out on her, Elisa attempts to kill her young daughter Marie and then commits suicide.  Marie, however, survives, and grows up in an orphanage.  Twenty years later, Marie's troubled past is reflected in her lifestyle.  She and her friend Solange occupy themselves by shoplifting and generally causing trouble.   When she discovers where her missing father is living, Marie sets out to find him, with the intention of killing him.  When she meets him, he turns out to be not the heartless brute she had expected...