The Innocent (2022)
The Innocent (L’Innocent in French) is a heartwarming mix of romantic thriller, comedy drama and heist movie.
L’Innocent is the fourth feature film by Louis Garrel, who started out as an actor, and who is now making quite a name for himself as a director and screenwriter.
As part of a strong ensemble, Garrel plays the central role of Abel (an alter-ego who appears in all his movies) who feels guilty about the death of his wife. She died in a car accident in which Abel was behind the wheel.
At the same time, he feels responsible for his eccentric mother Sylvie (Anouk Grinsberg), an elderly actress who has a habit of falling in love with the criminals she meets during her acting workshops in prison. (A part apparently inspired by Garrel’s own mother Brigitte Sy).
Her latest flame is Michel (Roschdy Zem), who is free again after five years in jail for an armed robbery. Now the lovebirds want to open a flower shop together.
Abel doesn't really trust Michel and starts to follow him, together with his best friend Clemence (Noemi Merlant), with whom he has a complicated relationship.
They soon discover that there is indeed more to Michel’s plans than meets the eye. But when they confront Michel, the story takes a turn and they decide to join him and his cronies in a plan that involves robbing a caviar truck.
The script by Garrel together with Tanguy Viel, is well written and cleverly ties together all the strands of the story. The acting is top notch and the mix of different genres works out surprisingly well.
The highlight of the film is a long sequence related to the robbery, in which Abel and Clemence have to distract the driver who is trying to enjoy his evening meal in a roadside restaurant. It goes on for twenty minutes and gives Merlant the chance to pull out all the stops.
Garrel himself is more subdued in his acting and gives the rest of the cast plenty of opportunity to shine.
It is clear that all the main characters carry a lot of grief with them, but instead of wallowing in it - as happens in a lot of films these days - they use it to take action.
Even Abel, who bonds with Michel more than he thought he would, while he also sees his platonic relationship with Clemence evolve into something more substantial.
I think that Garrel knows that deep down films are supposed to be fun. In a sense L’Innocent is a throwback to a more innocent time at the movies.
Garrel also adds some cinephile touches. There are nice for some scenes in the first part of the film in which he was visibly inspired by the ultimate romantic thriller, Alfred Hitchcock's Vertigo.
The Innocent premiered Out of Competion in Cannes last year. Since then it has toured the festival circuit. It is out now theatrically in Italy and the Netherlands, and it will open in Spain in April, with hopefully more countries to follow.
All in all there is much to enjoy here for film enthusiasts. L'Innocent is a feel-good film in the best sense of the word.