Title: Love Crime
Director: Alain Corneau
Starring: Ludivine Sagnier, Kristin Scott Thomas, Patrick Mille, Guillaume Marquet
Interpersonal chess matches always provide audiences with ample amounts of intrigue no matter what the backdrop. Love Crime is a 104 minute French film that has three characters relying on their resources and wits to bury each other. Naturally this all gets going due to some sort of crime of passion scenario based off jealously.
Isabelle (Ludivine Sagnier) is a top executive at a worldwide corporation in Paris, France. She loyally attends to the refined & charming CEO, Christine (Kristin Scott Thomas). This is Isabelle’s life and Christine has been nothing short than a mentor to the timid yet successful executive. Isabelle’s assistant Daniel (Guillaume Marquet) realizes that without Isa’s superior work ethic, Christine would not pull-off half the deals she is credited for.
Longing for Christine’s approval and continued guidance, Isabelle learns that her idol isn’t the perfect soul she places on a daily pedestal. While working with Christine’s legal counsel – and lover – Philippe (Patrick Mille), boundaries are crossed, drawing out Christine’s envious and ruthless side and it’s directed towards the unsuspecting Isabelle. Tired of playing second-fiddle, and watching Christine take all the credit, Isabelle retaliates via the corporate environment they play in. But things are taken to a whole other level, that has this love-triangle going to more extreme and ruthless lengths to beat out their competition.
The way this screenplay is organized kind of made this feel as if this was a short-story trilogy. In other words, the script has three distinct acts (as it should) that could function on their own respective segments quite well. By the time the third act rolls in, the details of why certain things take place and/or character actions occur, may be too elaborate – as in, not necessary – for some viewers; though it does feed an the ever-growing mystery angle that will continue to hold their interest all the way through.
Although the performances are concise and the mechanics have a purpose in just about every scene, the quick-hitting, change-of-pace tone within the characters can throw one off the fluid motion early on. Questions of why people are suddenly not acting like how they were introduced via their initial discourse is quasi-shoved in one’s face. As in, just deal with it. These acts don’t turn-off the viability of where this story is headed but it makes the transitions from scene to scene look like there were ellipses in time. It eventually makes sense, but a little coddling action for the viewer could have been injected prior to the “mood-swing.”
Know that you will be reading subtitles for the majority of this flick so if that is a turn-off then stay away. Fortunately, the camera will linger on physical emotions as the characters roam around skyscraper offices and elegant modern apartments. This battle of the wealth and insecure is quite clever and dabbles in a variety of genres as the story opens up. And the performances are tight and all require – and show – a decent amount of range from the actors. Be sure to pay attention to trivial actions during conversations as well, for a lot of the emotional vibe is presented around these moments.
Overall, Love Crime is intelligent and has a classy-like viciousness to it. It jumps around early on, making some actions an awkward sell. Once the first act concludes the audience will be all in just to see how far the cunning characters will take this saboteur battle for the satisfying thrill of victory.
Technical: B
Story: B
Acting: A
Overall: B
Review by Joe Belcastro
