Tel père telle fille (2007)
Directed by Olivier De Plas

Film Review

Whilst perhaps not as daring and intense as it deserves to be, Tel père telle fille is an acceptable début feature from director Olivier De Plas.  The film is based on the novel Teen Spirit by Virginie Despentes, who is best known as the author of the book Baise-moi and director of its highly controversial film adaptation.

Whilst De Plas's direction errs a little too often on the side of caution and perhaps relies too much on cinematic cliché, he succeeds in making a film that is thoughtful and engaging, thanks largely to the support of  his lead actors.  Vincent Elbaz convincingly portrays a man who is trapped in an extended adolescence, from which an unexpected fatherhood offers the only hope of escape.  In her first film appearance, Daisy Broom shows great promise with her realistic portrayal of a rebellious teenager struggling to make sense of her life. 

Tel père telle fille effectively marries two familiar themes - that of midlife crisis and teenage rebellion - but adds little to the plethora of films that have explored these themes previously.  In terms of style and content, it is reminiscent of  Olivier Assayas's early films, but without that inspired touch and throat-ripping sense of anguish which can make an audience sit up and take note.  Has French cinema really anything else to tell us about adolescent angst and the male menopause?

Film Synopsis

Bruno is a thirty-something musician who, having grown disillusioned with his profession, decides to strike out in a different direction and become a writer.  He earns barely enough to support himself, so he is dependent on his present partner Catherine as he apprentices himself to his new trade.  One day, an old girlfriend rings him up and imparts the earth-shattering news that he is a father.  Since Bruno hasn't seen this particular girlfriend for over fourteen years the revelation comes as something of a shock.

Reluctantly, Bruno agrees to meet the daughter he has never met.  She is called Nancy and is now thirteen years old.  The former musician doesn't exactly warm to the idea of becoming a father, but as soon as he meets his unexpected offspring he can't help developing a paternal interest in her.  Nancy appears to be even more rudderless and confused about her life than Bruno is about his own, so her father's belated arrival into her life is probably just what she needs at the moment.  And the same is probably true for Bruno...