STAR-CROSSED KIDS PLAY TRUTH OR DARE FOR REAL.Byline: Glenn Whipp Film Critic A TWISTED FAIRY TALE fairy tale Simple narrative typically of folk origin dealing with supernatural beings. Fairy tales may be written or told for the amusement of children or may have a more sophisticated narrative containing supernatural or obviously improbable events, scenes, and personages that's almost as good as anything the Brothers Grimm For information about the other uses of the name, see Brothers Grimm (disambiguation). The Grimm Brothers Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm, were German academics who were best known for publishing collections of folk tales and fairy tales,[1] dreamed up, ``Love Me if You Dare'' is a romantic comedy for people who don't like romantic comedies. Writer-director Yann Samuel's feature debut takes the cartoon whimsy whim·sy also whim·sey n. pl. whim·sies also whim·seys 1. An odd or fanciful idea; a whim. 2. A quaint or fanciful quality: stories full of whimsy. of Jean-Pierre Jeunet's ``Amelie'' and turns it on its ear, creating a dark, unpredictable love story that can either be viewed as tragic, idiotic or soulfully romantic, depending on whether you really believe love makes the world go around. This quality of open-ended interpretation is one of the film's strengths, as is Samuel's complete indifference to the ways audiences may despise his two lead characters, even when he introduces them as bright-eyed youngsters. And if you think this boy and girl are monsters as tots, just wait until you encounter them as adults. (Of course, for Francophobes, the film will just serve as a confirmation of their worst suspicions.) We first meet Julien (Thibault Verhaeghe) and Sophie (Josephine Lebas Joly) as 8-year-old classmates Classmates can refer to either:
When a person is not expected to live more than 12 months. Notes: Any gifts given out by the afflicted person at this time may be considered as a dispersion of the estate rather than a gift. , and his resentful father (Gerard Watkins) makes the boy feel somehow to blame for her condition. Sophie is teased at school because she's a Polish immigrant. Julien comes to her defense, and they bond and begin playing a game of can-you-top-this dares that will come to dominate their complex relationship. As kids, you can understand all this acting out, given what's going on What's Going On is a record by American soul singer Marvin Gaye. Released on May 21, 1971 (see 1971 in music), What's Going On reflected the beginning of a new trend in soul music. at home. But when the film jumps forward and Julien (Guillaume Canet) and Sophie (Marion Cotillard Marion Cotillard (born 30 September 1975) is a French actress, perhaps best known for portraying Édith Piaf in 2007's La Môme (also known as La Vie En Rose). , Billy Crudup's wife in ``Big Fish'') are college students, still daring each other with increasingly difficult challenges, the stakes are different. Whether or not Julien and Sophie ever get together becomes irrelevant; the rush they get from the competition of degrading each other becomes the be-all, end-all of their existence. The movie works because Samuel never intends for it to be taken literally. It's a Greek tragedy, not a French update of ``When Harry Met Sally ...'' (which, of course, would be renamed to read: ``When Harry Humiliated hu·mil·i·ate tr.v. hu·mil·i·at·ed, hu·mil·i·at·ing, hu·mil·i·ates To lower the pride, dignity, or self-respect of. See Synonyms at degrade. Sally ...''). The film has a candy-colored, kitschy look and a relentless assortment of camera effects, which is where the comparisons to ``Amelie'' come in. This French import won't cross over like its predecessor, but it's an interesting look at the lengths two people will go to in order to avoid emotional intimacy Emotional intimacy is a dimension of interpersonal intimacy that varies in degree and over time, much like physical intimacy. Affect, emotion and feeling may refer to different phenomena. Emotional intimacy may refer to any or all of those in both a lay or a professional context. . When Sophie tells Julien: ``I'll see you in hell,'' she isn't kidding. Glenn Whipp, (818) 713-3672 glenn.whipp(at)dailynews.com LOVE ME IF YOU DARE - Three stars (R: language and some sexuality. In French with English subtitles.) Starring: Guillaume Canet, Marion Cotillard. Director: Yann Samuel. Running time: 1 hr. 30 min. Playing: Laemmle's Sunset 5 in West Hollywood; Landmark's NuWilshire in Santa Monica. In a nutshell: A romantic comedy for people who hate the genre. CAPTION(S): photo Photo: Sophie (Josephine Lebas Joly) and Julien (Thibault Veraeghe) meet cute in ``Love Me if You Dare'' - but don't be fooled. |
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