In November, I had the chance to catch a few of the screenings during the IFI’s French Film Festival. Shown there was Gilles Lellouches’s highly-anticipated sort of musical epic, originally titled L’Amour ouf (literally translated to Crazy love), but internationally distributed as Beating Hearts.
The film with its big budget and star-studded cast first premiered in May, out of competition, at the Cannes Film Festival and ended up dividing the public and the critics as being labelled as both an unmissable grand love story, worth of being seen on the big screen, as well as the festival’s biggest disappointment. Somehow, after seeing the film, I can see how the film ticks both boxes.
I can strongly agree that Beating Hearts is worth catching in the cinema as its generous budget is impressively applied whether it’s something as grand as an intense car chase scene or a dreamy fever-like dance sequence demonstrating the first thrills of teenage romance. This is Lellouche’s first directing credit in almost 6 years since Sink or Swim which didn’t necessarily break the international barrier, but was very well-received in France. As he’s shared multiple times in interviews, this star-crossed-lovers story is what he’s always wanted to tell, but never had the chance, the skill or the funding earlier in his career. This being his passion project, however, is both the blessing and the curse of Beating Hearts.
The film is loosely based on the book by Irish writer Neville Thompson Jackie loves Johnser, OK?, but instead of having the action taking place in the rough streets of Dublin, it’s transported to France where the revolting teen Clotaire falls for his studious and unproblematic classmate Jacqueline (who he nicknames “Jackie”), but when gang violence leads to Clotaire being accused of a crime he didn’t commit, the star-crossed lovers are separated only for their paths to cross again years later and for them to realise that their fates are eternally intertwined.
The plot is roughly separated in two parts. The first one is set during the 80s and follows young Clotaire and Jackie, played by newcomers Malik Frikah and Mallory Wanecque, who were both rightfully nominated for Best Male/Female Newcomer at the upcoming Cesar Awards recently, falling in love to the accompaniment of vibrant 80s hits such as Billy Idol’s “Eyes without a face”. It’s to be noted that one of the film’s strong suits is the soundtrack that brings a sentimental and nostalgic note that even people who haven’t personally lived through the 80s can enjoy. It’s clear to see Lellouche cares so much as the film is wonderfully directed and there are many stand out scenes such as the dance sequence featuring “A Forest” by The Cure, representing the inner world of both Clotaire and Jackie once they realise their feelings are mutual. In strong contrast to those dreamlike amorous scenes, there’s the violent side of the film, explicitly portraying “the underworld” in France, that at moments feel too bloody for their own sake.
The second part of the film skips roughly 15 years ahead, taking place in the early 2000s, and follows, separately, Jackie who is wasting away her potential and Clotaire who is just about to be released from prison, amid their imminent reunion. This is also where the film starts losing its steam and falls flat by its end. Clotaire and Jackie are now played by the beloved French stars Adèle Exarchopoulos and Francois Civil who might have been the selling point of the film, but end up being outshined by the young actors who, being the film’s emotional core, show far more range. The slight lack of chemistry between Civil and Exarchopoulos, however, could be blamed not on the acting, but rather the script that surely loses its dynamic and almost feels as if the young and the older actors are playing two radically different pairs of characters. It’s when Lellouche starts prioritising his stylised vision over the coherence of the story where things go astray. It all makes sense when in an interview Lellouche confirms the second part strongly differs from the book. Not to mention that in his desperate aspiration to recreate the vibe of the 80s action romance films, the film often falls in the trap of outdated stereotypes such as the black friend being the comic relief.
Overall, Beating Hearts is quite disappointing being a bit tawdry/gingerbread for its own sake. It’s also overly long, often feeling like 2 movies, desperately shoved in one that would have definitely benefited from a better editor. The passion and dedication that Lellouche has put in the making of it is visible and highly admirable, but it’s also what has ultimately blinded him from being objective. So instead of having a coherent emotionally-driven narrative, we end up with a rather polished disjointed showcase of what’s been brewing in his mind for decades. It’s still quite amusing, but if this is Lellouche’s dream film, it’s definitely not mine.
