Une autre vie (2014)
Directed by Emmanuel Mouret

Film Review

For his seventh feature, director Emmanuel Mouret ventures into new territory, eschewing good-natured rom-com for something far darker - thriller-edged melodrama.  Une autre vie allows its author to persevere with his favourite hobby, dissecting human relationships, in particular the phenomenon of amour fou, but here he does so using the blunt instruments of melodrama rather than the razor-sharp scalpel of comedy.  For his earlier films, Mouret modelled himself on Woody Allen.  This time he takes his inspiration from other cinematic titans, Douglas Sirk, François Truffaut and Alfred Hitchcock.  The cinematic smash-and-grab raid that Mouret gleefully indulges in includes some subtle and not-so-subtle allusions to All That Heaven Allows (1955) and La Peau douce (1964) and Vertigo (1958).

Typically, Mouret limits himself to a dramatis personae consisting of a handful of individuals, most of the drama focusing on the fraught relationship between its three main characters.  It's the familiar love triangle set up and Mouret is unlikely to win any awards for originality as he serves up an anodyne tale of lust and revenge stuffed with all the old clichés.  A class-breaching romance between a posh pianist (Jasmine Trinca) and a swarthy-looking electrician (Joey Starr) gets things off to a predictable start, a torrid love affair rendered slightly tedious by Mouret's coldly detached approach.  It is only when Virginie Ledoyen enters the frame and embarks on a cruel vendetta that the film livens up and narrowly avoids ending up as a near-facsimile of 70s erotica.  His imagination clearly failing him, Mouret peps up the flagging narrative by cobbling together a thriller intrigue that is more than a little contrived. 

Despite the quality of the acting - Starr is particularly convincing and brings a surprising fragility to his portrayal - none of the characters ring true and all come across as pretty shallow archetypes.  Mouret deserves some credit for breaking out of his comfort zone and attempting something radically different but, right from the outset, it is apparent that straight drama is not his forte.  Lacking the charm and elegance of the director's comedies, Une autre vie feels like a twisted aberration, the ugly self-portrait that Mouret ought to have kept hidden away in his attic as he went on regaling us with his warmer, more humorous slices of life.  It's by no means a disaster but after the delightful Changement d'adresse (2006) and Un baiser s'il vous plaît (2007) it is clear that Mouret has taken a step in the wrong direction.

Film Synopsis

Jean is an electrician who makes a living installing household alarms in the south of France.  In the course of his work he meets Aurore, a famous concert pianist who is recovering from a breakdown at her home in the country.  In spite of their obvious differences, the two fall in love and decide to start a new life together.  Jean has no qualms about leaving his partner Dolorès, but she has different ideas and will do anything to hold onto him...