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TRANSITIONS

I am watching all of Jacques Audiard's films that are available.

Today's film was

Sur mes lèvres / Read My Lips (2001)

with Vincent Cassel, one of those tremendously sexy rough trade French actors (think Belmondo) and Emmanuelle Devos who is one of the most lackluster, plain actresses. And she is a star. We have seen her in many films.

Her specialty is blooming, coming to life in front of our eyes.

You may be able to infer the story arc from this simple description. But you will still be quite surprised.

The office drudge hires an assistant who turns out to be an ex-con. At first she treats him as she is treated but then, after some interaction of a simple but important sort, she warms to him. Not he to her.

Turns out she is also deaf and uses hearing aids to get along.

Not a promising start, eh? Hang on.

The ear thing is used very creatively and crucially in the story that follows. Obviously from the title, she reads lips and from the very beginning we "hear" what is going on in the same way that she does with some distortion and, when she has the earphones out, a dullish noise.

There is frustration here but it is used very well to create her complex character and later intertwines her special skill for, well, the story to advance. She is like a wiretap that people don't know is there.

I am getting too deeply into this.

So will you.

I won't mention that she has a rich dressup like a whore fantasy life which she reveals to no one except to us.

I am not telling you anything here. What you must get is that an apparent innocent who can read lips so she knows what people are saying about her and a tough guy on parole may find an interesting relationship with each other and some interesting capers to carry out for a bit of revenge. Hers for being a drudge and put in her place and him for the kind of submissive life that parole creates.

I loved this movie because it moves quickly through a complex situation and never lets us down.

That is why I am watching all of Audiard's films now. They are all like that but also utterly different.

This one will keep you on the edge of your seat.

I will give it a 5 out of Netflix5 because there are parts I already want to see again.

Labels: films