Aug 02 2006
Angel-A
Dir & Writ: Luc Besson
- Jamel Debbouze - André
- Rie Rasmussen - Angel-A
Don’t you just hate when a film you’ve been enjoying falls to pieces in the final third?
Angel-A starts off well. We meet André as he tries to talk his way out of debt, on a few occasions. None of his smooth talking seems to go down very well, so he thinks maybe the American embassy will offer some help. He is an American citizen after all. But no, they don’t, and suicide crosses his mind. Crosses it enough for him to stand on one of Paris’ many bridges and think about jumping.
As he is preparing to leap he notices a woman standing close by, and after a brief exchange of dialogue she jumps. He follows suit, not in an effort to kill himself, but because he wants to save her.
I really enjoyed the first half of this film, it has a nice, slightly comedic tone, and everything looks stunning. Black and white photography really can make everything look great. The plot wasn’t the best, but I enjoyed the interaction between André and Angela. Unfortunately it all goes to pot at the end. Overblown and underwritten. It is nothing but a mess as it tries far too hard to make some philosophical point about love and identity and loving oneself. It fails, instead veering off into melodrama.
That’s not to say I hated, I still enjoyed, but only a little. If I was being all stereotypical I would even say it is a typical French film; black and white, and a lot of talk about nothing.
IMDb | Movie reviews for greedy capitalist bastards | The Focus Clinic | SheWhoMust
Tags: 6 Stars, Angel-A, angels, French, good premise, Jamel Debbouze, Luc Besson, overblown, Rie Rasmussen, romance, sff, stylish, subtitled, underwritten, weak ending