Although the new French film “Look at Me” is an oasis of civilization, it hardly ignores the less civilized impulses of people. Quite the opposite: Even though its characters are sophisticates, they’re completely absorbed in the full-time business of narcissism, vanity, neediness and the ancient art of sucking up.
This witty film is the second directed by actress Agnes Jaoui, whose first effort, “The Taste of Others,” won well-deserved plaudits. Jaoui writes her films with her ex-husband, Jean-Pierre Bacri, who stars in them with her.
Here, Bacri – a dark, bald actor who resembles a turtle that smokes too much – has a juicy role as a celebrated novelist. (The movie takes for granted that a writer might be a celebrity; this is France, remember.) We see much of the film from the perspective of his teenage daughter (Marilou Berry), an aspiring opera singer who’s been ignored by her father for much of her life. Her weight problem is perhaps one reason he seems to look right through her.
Jaoui plays the girl’s voice teacher. When she learns that her student is the daughter of a famous writer, she suddenly develops a keener interest in the kid – a phenomenon the girl is accustomed to (and which she uses to her benefit when she wants).
In fact, Jaoui is married to a struggling writer (Laurent Grevil), whose career explodes when Bacri reviews his obscure novel. He’s the self-righteous, principled type, but when he has the chance to land permanently in Bacri’s glittering orbit, including invitations to the great man’s country house, he happily swallows his standards.
The portrait of the famous novelist’s self-absorption, and the people who trail in his wake, is highly amusing. Bacri has the beautiful new wife, of course, plus one sidekick who appears to have no other function that to hang around, absorb tantrums and laugh at the great man’s jokes.
No one is spared scrutiny in Jaoui’s sardonic view of things, but she also has a forgiving nature. Bacri’s character might have come off as a caricature of a cultural monster (the French must have had a lot of fun debating who he was based on), but his behavior has taken a toll on him, just as it has on the people around him.
“Look at Me” is not as perfectly rounded-off as “The Taste of Others,” as it leaves subjects dangling, but that may be the point. It encourages the audience to think, and it also encourages the audience to consider moving lock, stock and barrel to the French countryside.
“Look at Me” HHH
Witty: A look at the people in the orbit of a famous novelist (Jean-Pierre Bacri), most miserably his neglected, overweight teenage daughter. A civilized comedy, directed by co-star Agnes Jaoui. (In French, with English subtitles.)
Rated: PG-13 rating is for subject matter.
Now showing: tk
“Look at Me” HHH
Witty: A look at the people in the orbit of a famous novelist (Jean-Pierre Bacri), most miserably his neglected, overweight teenage daughter. A civilized comedy, directed by co-star Agnes Jaoui. (In French, with English subtitles.)
Rated: PG-13 rating is for subject matter.
Now showing: Seven Gables
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