Heartbreaker

What an unexpected gem this is. Knowing nothing before I went in, as I like to do, from my brief glance at the poster I was expecting a run of the mill romance. And a dull one at that from the trailer I had also seen. However, and this is what makes cinema so great, the best films just come out of nowhere. Heartbreaker tells the story of Alex (Romain Duris) the (glamorous) face of a small and secretive business that specialises in splitting up couples by showing the woman what might have been, though not by means of getting her into bed. Things go awry for Alex though when, due to rising debts, he accepts a seemingly impossible assignment to woo Juliette (Vanessa Paradis) before she weds Jonathan (Andrew Lincoln). Three problems though. One: The couple are in love and seemingly without problems, so this job goes against Alex’s beliefs. Two: Juliette initially ignores him. Three: Well, you can guess that anyway, surely? The best thing about this film is that everyone seems to be having a blast. A lot of kudos should go to first time director Pascal Chaumeil for this as he realises there’s no point playing anything straight here and just goes for broke laughs wise utilising visual gags, slapstick and one-liners (though some may find certain parts a little crude). Even Duris’ character is a wink to the audience because, despite his job as well, a heartbreaker, he goes from looking impossibly handsome to gormlessly dull in some scenes. The tricks of the trade that Alex uses in order to complete his tasks raise many titters and a scene where he comes to the aid of a car-jacked Juliette is a laugh out loud moment encapsulated not by dialogue, but by a tilted tracking shot by Chaumeil (his advertising background coming to the fore). The com definitely outweighs the rom in this one, but this is probably for the best as Paradis is somewhat bland throughout. The script also throws up a few unexpected turns including a small little twist at the end. On the negative side you may find the morals a bit dodgy and some back up characters fail to tickle the funny bone. Overall though this looks great, Duris is excellent (the running gag about him crying worth the price of admission alone) and it’s very very funny.

The OC Film Sting Final Verdict
More rom-COM then ROM-com, this is still charming enough to get away with its central premise due to a quotient of high laughter and it’s a film that both males and females can enjoy equally. Rating: 8/10.