Starring Guillaume Canet, Marion
Cotillard. Written and directed by Yann Samuell. (14A) 93 min. Opens May 28.
A highly stylized French confection in the mould of Amélie, this feature debut by former animator Yann Samuell is a giddy, inventive and appropriately maddening ode to l'amour fou.
The lovers' connection is forged when they are eight-year-olds living
in a candy-coloured French town. Julien (Thibault Verhaeghe) is a
lonely boy who despairs over his terminally ill mother. Meanwhile, the
Polish-born Sophie (Josephine Lebas-Joly) is made miserable by the
racist taunts of classmates. They find solace in a curious game in
which they challenge each other to commit audacious acts.
Julien
and Sophie's parents and teachers attempt to stop these hijinks, but
the game quickly becomes everything to them. By the time they are young
adults (with Guillaume Canet and Marion Cotillard taking over the
roles), the nature of the dares has changed from relatively innocent --
playing doctor, slapping gym teachers -- to potentially
life-threatening. Despite the obvious emotional toll, Julien and Sophie
find themselves unable to stop, mostly because that would mean
accepting a more mundane sort of love than the impulsive, often
destructive one they enjoy.
To further illustrate the notion that each set of lovers creates its own strange world, Samuell stuffs
Love Me If You Dare
with animated fantasy sequences, cartoonish effects, nutty camera moves
and countless incarnations of the song "La Vie en Rose." Though all
this madness is fun for a while, the inclusion of a few subtler moments
might have provided viewers with a richer understanding of Julien and
Sophie's compulsions. The film's dazzling visuals and chaotic
exuberance are initially exhilarating, but
Love Me If You Dare
is so overloaded with kitsch and colour, the sugar high eventually
gives way to an ice-cream headache. Even if it lacks the poignance of
another recent tale of true love run amok, Michel Gondry's
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Samuell's film still qualifies as a superior date movie.