Not to be too cynical about it, but might the recent horrific fire in Paris’ cathedral attract audiences to a film in which the gothic gem plays a major role? It’s likely a wiser marketing strategy…
,” the writer-director-star’s return to contemporary Paris following her historical misfire “Marguerite and Julian.”
Despite wanting to be a cathartically humorous riposte to an anger-filled society, this story of a meek architect unexpectedly awarded the contract to redesign Notre-Dame’s esplanade relies on an insufferable combination of flaky absurdism mixed with saccharine insouciance, all packaged like a chirpy sitcom in which dripping snot is played as a big laugh-getter. Timing however may well play to Donzelli’s advantage, at least until the reviews come out.
The mayor’s office loves her unplanned proposal and awards her the contract; as if that’s not overwhelming enough, her partner before Martial, a journalist named Bacchus Renard appears on the scene to report on the project, and she faints dead away. Life has suddenly become overwhelming: Maud’s fallen back in love with Bacchus, who’s never gotten over his adoration for her, and all Paris eagerly awaits the unveiling of a blueprint for her esplanade design.
The script’s ridiculousness snowballs as Donzelli grasps for ever-nuttier twists and turns, accumulating tiresome absurdities as if she’s unsuccessfully grappling with a major case of ADD. She seems to have also pushed that on her regular editor Pauline Gaillard, given the number of cuts per minute.
It appears that Donzelli thought that unmodulated caricature could make some kind of light-hearted statement about releasing ourselves from our personal straightjackets, yet the twee nature of it all is enervating, not liberating. At least money was saved on the costumes, since everyone inexplicably wears more or less the same thing for every occasion.
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