Rupture pour tous (2016)
Directed by Éric Capitaine

Film Review

Éric Capitaine makes a promising directing debut with Rupture pour tous, a lively and ironic variation on the rom-com theme that bears more than a passing resemblance to Pascal Chaumeil's 2010 comedy L'Arnacoeur.  Both films offer a wry commentary on the way our consumer society is heading, with human relationships now reduced to no more than commodities, to be packaged and processed like any other.  Assisted on the writing front by François Bégaudeau (who co-authored Entre les murs, winner of the Golden Palm at Cannes in 2008), Capitaine turns in a neat and original comedy that manages to be amusing and engaging, without resorting to the crass vulgarity that has crept into French film comedy in recent years.

The attractive leads Benjamin Lavernhe and Elisa Ruschke prove to be not only capable performers, they are also adept at fielding the gags and have a sparkling rapport that helps to sustain the film in spite of its obvious lack of structure.  If Rupture pour tous has a killer fault it is that it looks like a random collection of comedy sketches that are too weakly stitched together to make an entirely satisfying whole.  Some disappointments in the supporting cast also help to undermine the film's credibility, but not enough to derail it completely.  Éric Capitaine acquits himself admirably with this offbeat debut offering, which is assuredly one of the more watchable French comedies of 2016.

Film Synopsis

'Love Is Dead' is a new company that offers its customers a very peculiar kind of service - to bring about a clean and harmonious end to a failing romantic relationship.  The man who founded the company, Mathias Lonisse, has no shortage of clients keen to make use of his services.  What can be more distressing than having to break-up with your partner?  For a modest fee, Mathias will undertake this messy task and both sides are spared an acrimonious parting scene.  The irony is that Mathias's own love life is hardly a picture of success, until he takes a liking to a young colleague of his.  Mathias has a real pride in his work but he finds himself in a difficult situation when his mother reveals her intention to leave his father.  If only he was as good at fixing broken relationships as he was at ending them...