“The Innocent” is a stylish, fast-moving tale that flirts with several different genres, from the family drama to the heist.
is essentially a film with four strong characters who each get their share of good lines and have shifting claims on our sympathies. Not the least of these is Zem’s Michel, a charismatic figure for whom crime is a profession rather than an offence. Even Clemence is attracted to the risk and romance of it all.
Sylvie falls for Michel when she sees he is the best actor in his prison group. But she doesn’t realise he is still playing a role when released.It’s Abel who has to overcome the greatest scruples. One presumes he is the “innocent” of the title, but each of the main characters might lay claim to the description. Apart from Abel, no one seems to take crime very seriously.
Abel’s personality is perfectly matched to his day job as an education officer in an aquarium. He spends his working hours wreathed in the eerie blue light of the fish tanks, giving lectures to tourists and schoolchildren. His emotional life is completely “underwater”, as he grieves for his wife and frets over his mother’s bad choices. It’s ironic that the object of the heist turns out to be a shipment of caviar.
One clever aspect of this film is the way the experience of acting is integrated within the plot. Sylvie falls for Michel when she sees he is the best actor in his prison group, but doesn’t realise he is still playing a role when released. Clemence relishes the opportunity for a little theatre as her contribution to the heist. It’s only Abel who finds it difficult to separate the real world from the make-believe, yet his failure to do so will also be his success.
If we could manage to recapture these building blocks of a successful cinema we might be able, once again, to send our own stories out into the world instead of merely exporting our actors and cinematographers. On the other hand, maybe we could just import Louis Garrel.
Australia Latest News, Australia Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Australian man’s jail sentence for writing critical letter to Pakistan military a ‘torment’ for familyFamily of Hasan Askree, 53, who was jailed for five years in 2020, say case is a grave miscarriage of justice
Read more »
Australian Taxation Office to force banks to hand over landlord data in investment property crackdownExclusive: Incorrect reporting of rental property income and expenses, and failure to declare capital gains are all in the spotlight
Read more »
John Olsen, celebrated Australian artist, dies aged 95Best known for his landscapes, Olsen won the Archibald prize in 2005 for a self-portrait
Read more »
Australian scientists grow replica human lungs and call for end to animal testingExclusive: ‘Everyone told me it would never work’, says professor of nanomedicine, but science needs alternatives to experimenting on animals
Read more »