Yann Samuel and Antoine Roch the DOP have tried very hard to mimic Jeunet's 80s 90s style (green photography, digitally enhanced ultra-swift camera tracking etc...) which all came from the French TV advertising trendy aesthetics of the 80s. And achieved nothing but an irritating flick. Jeux d'Enfants contains nothing you have not seen before. You wish filmmakers had turned the page... No. The whole "stylish" shooting is so much in your face that it prevents you from following the ultra slim story line. The actors are good (Canet and Cotillard have proved elsewhere that they can act) so what's so wrong and phony about Jeux d'Enfants? You have to look towards the director, who must value photography and camera moves more than actor's direction. What about the script? As often these days, the concept is the whole thing (Open Water, Phone Booth etc...): short and easy to market. What about the spectator who's paid his ticket? Is there anything left for him? Like life, emotions, tears, joy, fear, laughter? Nope. He's been conned. The dialogs are not funny. They're actually incredibly sloppy and vulgar (an 8 year old girl saying "blow job" to her teacher is tasteless and not funny, if not completely unrealistic). The story is unbelievable, and the characters are heartless. No emotions, no depth, no fun. Sheer vulgarity. With color grading gone bad. A talentless caricature of wannabe trendy French cinema. Thank God there are films about youth like Billy Elliot who talk to one's heart, eyes, brains and soul...
Review of Love Me If You Dare
