Look at Me (2004) User Reviews

A skillful, subtle movie

[wbryant1976 · 8/10 · 13 May 2005]

The film begins with a character speaking on her cellphone but unable to be heard because the taxi driver is playing his radio at such a loud volume -- which is a fitting preface to the rest of the film, in which characters try desperately not only to be seen (as in the title, translated only approximately from the French "Comme Une Image"), but to be heard. At the heart of the story is a daughter's inability to be heard, quite literally, by her father -- who will rarely acknowledge his daughter and refuses to listen to his daughter's cassette of her singing classical music. Aside from the main father/daughter relationship, the film is full of types that are at once fresh and recognizable (the unctuous friend of the celebrity, the slightly defeated wife of an author, who has subsumed her own passions for music to his passion to be a famous author). This will come as no surprise to those familiar with Jaoui's other work. Though not groundbreaking cinema, Look At Me is two hours very well spent in a theater.

Wonderful

[MikeF-6 · 8/10 · 16 May 2005]

A superb comedy/drama. Agnés Jaoui, who co-wrote and directed, also has a major acting role in this story of several people who buzz around a self-centered, rich and famous writer and publisher. His teenage daughter, Lolita, who is desperate for his attention, is pretty and a talented singer, but overweight, with low self-esteem. She is resigned to guys asking her out in order to get the opportunity to pitch projects to her father. Jaoui is the Lolita's voice teacher. She also uses the young women to advance her husband's unsuccessful writing career, but later comes to regret her actions. Marilou Berry is fine as Lolita. Jean-Pierre Bacri gives a human face to the egotistical father. Bacri makes him a man who simply cannot understand how his actions – no matter how cruel – could possibly be taken badly. All of the other performers, including Jaoui, do outstanding jobs. This is the kind of character-driven comedy that we hope to get every time we see a new Woody Allen movie. But Woody has disappointed us for so long and so many times that maybe we can now recognize a new talented triple-threat. I am already looking forward to the next Agnés Jaoui film.

What price glory?

[gradyharp · 8/10 · 19 August 2005]

COMME UNE IMAGE (LOOK AT ME) is a tough little film that practically defies the viewer to love it. Rated as a comedy, it has few chuckles of the usual kind, but the smart tidy script delivers more of the Reformation-type comedy - wit with a bite. Writer/director and star Agnès Jaoui (her co-author is her ex-husband Jean-Pierre Bacri who also stars) is obviously an intelligent, observant, caustic chronicler of contemporary French society who dotes on celebrities at the expense of their own self-respect. Not a single character in this film is likable, but each one is fascinatingly interesting and a bit warped. Their interaction provides the venom that in Jaoui's hands raises the bar on the range of comedy.

Étienne Cassard (Jean-Pierre Bacri) is a famous writer whose latest novel has been 'transformed' into a schmaltzy film about which he is loathsomely embarrassed. He is caustic, acerbic, and emotionally negligent of both his grown obese daughter Lolita (Marilou Berry), who devotes her resentful life in an attempt to being a famous concert singer, and to his new wife Karine (Virginie Desarnauts) and little daughter. Lolita's music coach is Sylvia (Agnès Jaoui) whose demands on her students reflect her frustrated life being married to an unknown author Pierre (Laurent Grévill). Odd paths cross and it is through Lolita's influence as the daughter of a famous writer Étienne that Sylvia arranges for Pierre to join forces with Étienne and gain acceptance and popularity, but the consequences include Sylvia's increased tutelage for Lolita and her group of fellow madrigal singers.

Lolita comes the closest to being a character about whom we care. She is distraught about her weight, her distant father, her stepmother and stepsister, her inability to gain the affection for the boy of her dreams, her struggle to become a significant performer - all of which prevents her from recognizing the man who could salvage it all - Sébastien (Keine Bouhiza) who literally falls at her feet! All of these characters interact in complex and at times trying ways, ever cognizant of the 'authority of celebrity' and the results of these engagements form the body of the film. The acting is on a high level, the dialogue is crisp and smart, and the musical background for this mélange is a gorgeous mixture of classical music ranging from Buxtehude through Schubert ('An die Musik' plays a big role!) and many others. This 'comedy' is more intellectual than entertaining, but if wit and elegance of acting brings you joy, then this is a film to see. In French with subtitles at a long 2 hours! Grady Harp

An intelligent, witty and comical look at fame and its consequences

[Film247net · 24 November 2004]

20 year-old Lolita (Marilou Berry) aspires to be a singer.

More than this, she desperately wants attention - any attention - from her father Étienne (Jean-Pierre Bacri), a self-absorbed novelist whose neglect of his daughter and rudeness to those around him borders on the cruel.

Overweight and lacking in self-confidence, Marilou isn't helped by her assumption that those who befriend her view her only as a route to her famous and successful father.

This certainly seems true of Lolita's singing teacher Sylvia (Agnès Jaoui), whose husband Pierre (Laurent Grévill) is an aspiring writer himself.

And although Sébastien (Keine Bouhiza), whom Lolita meets by chance, seems genuine in his intentions, Lolita's fragile self-esteem and obsession with her father seem destined to thwart any future they might have.

Emotionally damaged, self-serving or merely flawed, this ensemble of eminently believable characters is superbly played under Agnès Jaoui's fluid direction.

Add in an intelligent and witty screenplay (co-written by Jaoui and Jean-Pierre Bacri) and you have a poignant yet subtly comical film that goes to the heart of the issue of fame and the affect on those in and around its spotlight.

If this were Hollywood, you might expect a sugar-coated resolution to the relationship difficulties portrayed.

Here, the characters remain true to themselves and the integrity of the film.

© Copyright Diana Betts / Film247.net 2004

Everybody says, "Look at me!"

[SBViewer · 7/10 · 3 May 2005]

I like the movie and thought it was interesting to see so many characters develop. Few popular American films can pull that off. The title made more sense to me after I thought for a while.

EVERYBODY in the film was saying, "Look at me!" which I think was the title of Pierre's book that he got accepted in the movie.

Lolita, of course, is saying to her father, Etienne, "Look at me, your daughter," as well as to everyone else, "Look at me for more than the chubby adolescent. I'm more than the daughter of the famous guy you want to curry favor with."

Etienne is saying, "Look at me (and my beautiful wife young enough to be my daughter)" and always striving for recognition (well displayed at the party where he forces the mogul to come over to HIM).

Sylvia, the music teacher, is certainly saying to her husband, Pierre, "Look at me, instead of obsessing over your 3rd book! For crying out loud, the other books got published and were well-reviewed." She tentatively enjoys it when the party guy really DOES look at her and they dance.

Pierre says, "Look at me," in his burning quest for publication and chasing the association with Etienne.

Karine, Etienne's young wife, probably was saying, "Look at me," when she married the famous author but then doesn't get enough of his time/attention, particularly because he's always checking out the new potential trophies. Their daughter is certainly saying, "Look at me," with all her attention-getting tantrums.

Sebastien (Raschid) is saying "Look at me as a real person, more than the stereotyped Algerian/Moroccan/Turk, unable to fit smoothly into French society."

Sharp dialogue and acting, but diffuse storytelling

[marissas75 · 7/10 · 27 May 2007]

The search for fame, attention, understanding and approval is the central preoccupation of the aptly titled "Look at Me." (This is one case where the translated title seems better than the original—it's certainly less pretentious.) It's a comedy-drama whose four main characters are Etienne (Jean-Pierre Bacri), a famous and egotistical novelist; Lolita (Marilou Berry), his pudgy, ignored daughter who has discovered a talent for singing; Sylvia (Agnès Jaoui), her voice teacher; and Pierre (Laurent Gréville), Sylvia's husband, an up-and-coming novelist. The story uses the time-honored tactic of introducing the characters as they go about their lives in a busy city (in this case, Paris) then ratcheting up the tension by sending them all to an isolated country house, where they have more opportunities to irritate and influence each other.

On a scene-by-scene basis, "Look at Me" works well enough—the dialogue is sharp and the acting, especially from Berry and Jaoui, is very good. I also liked how it has a subtly feminist theme by the end. But as a whole, the movie is too diffuse, with several characters that remain underdeveloped. It tries to set up two parallel stories—the ways that both Lolita and Pierre try to get Etienne's attention—but the trouble is that Lolita's quest is the more engaging one. The movie also stacks the deck against Lolita, with Etienne behaving more callously toward her than is sometimes believable. (He's like a less complex version of the selfish writer/dad from "The Squid and the Whale.")

"Look at Me" could have been much better with a more focused script and stronger ending, but there is also a good deal of wit, insight, and beautiful music to be found along the way.

Triple Triumph:

[Galina_movie_fan · 9/10 · 27 October 2005]

The breath of fresh air - refined, funny, ironic, in the best traditions of Chekhov's plays, this movie is a triple triumph for its writer/director/star Agnes Jaoui. "Look at me" is the story of 20 years old Lolita (rarely a name mismatches a girl so much. Lolita is a pudgy young woman with a very low self-esteem even though she's got a beautiful voice and passion for singing) who desperately craves her father's attention. Ironically, her father, one of the most famous writers in France, known for his deep, observant and subtle novels is an arrogant, self-centered, and self-involved man who hardly acknowledges Lolita - just to criticize her. He never finds time to listen to the tape Lolita made especially for him in hope to get his interest and approval. The beauty of the script and the movie is that Agnes Jaoui does not use only black or white colors to paint her characters. They turn with their different facets to the viewers and the film itself is a precious gem. The acting is superb by everyone. As a bonus treat, we will hear some of the most beautiful music every written, including the pieces by Monteverdi and Handel.

9/10

engrossing family drama

[Buddy-51 · 7/10 · 12 September 2006]

"Look at Me" is a talky but generally interesting French drama about a teenage girl's attempt to earn the love and recognition of her strangely distant father. Lolita is an overweight, aspiring singer who has lived in the shadow of her parent, a self-absorbed but successful novelist, all her life. Even though Etienne seems to care for his very young second wife and five-year-old daughter, he appears to have little interest in Lolita. Indeed, when he isn't completely ignoring her, in public or in private, he is wounding her with deprecating comments about her talent and weight. In the film's other major plot strand, Lolita's voice coach, Sylvia, is also married to an author, Pierre, who has been having trouble getting published of late, until she uses Lolita to secure him an introduction to the young protégé's father.

For the most part, "Look at Me" doesn't go for big flashy dramatic scenes but rather tells its story in a low-keyed way by having its characters interacting in traditionally continental social settings like restaurants, taxicabs and vacation homes in the country. Virtually all the characters suffer from some form of unhappiness or depression caused by their inability to create the lives they want. Lolita spends most of her time brooding over the fact that she can't get her father to acknowledge her existence, let alone support her in her endeavors. One of Lolita's biggest complaints is that people - and that includes boys - tend to befriend her solely as a means of "getting to" her famous father. Even her music teacher uses her for that purpose (though this is one time when Lolita seems unaware of it). So paranoid has Lolita become on this score that she even keeps at arm's length a young man who is obviously genuinely interested in having a relationship with her. The two authors, to varying degrees, have feelings of inadequacy and frustration brought on by either self-doubt about their talent or the fear that have begun to "dry up" as a writer.

For the most part, this is a compelling tale about people who feed off one another and compromise their values to get what they want. Etienne is, in many ways, the most interesting character because he seems genuinely unaware of the callous way he treats others, but he is also the most frustrating in that some of his most boorish actions in regards to his daughter don't always ring totally true. For instance, it is highly unlikely that even he would get up and leave in the middle of his daughter's concert performance to take a stroll outside, then completely ignore her at a party he throws for her afterwards. Too often, we feel as if he is being mean and thoughtless more as a plot device than as a genuine reflection of his character. The film's other intriguing secondary character is Sylvia, the music teacher, who really seems to be the voice of conscience in the story.

Despite that flaw, "Look at Me" succeeds more often than not at weaving a complex tapestry out of a variety of interesting and colorful characters. To that end, the film features fine ensemble work by Marilou Berry, Jean-Pierre Bacri and Agnes Jaoui, who also co-wrote and directed the movie.

Bitter taste of others' success

[vostf · 7/10 · 1 August 2004]

You can figure how difficult it is to bear the name of Lolita and the body of a 'not so good looking girl'. It's even harder when you can't expect support neither from your famous and egocentric publisher-writer-father neither from the people who know your father is that 'successful guy with books.' Whatever the circumstances, work from the heart is not bird in the hand. Thus you need people to understand you... or simply to shut up. Is that too demanding?

'Comme une image' is lovely crafted as was the Taste of others yet slightly inferior for the central story (the central character and most of the others) plays on a passive mode. Things happen and there's no outcome, no pay-off I should say... not that it's carefully anti-climactic but as a turnkey character Lolita is definitely a wrong pick.

The part of Lolita is touching at best, but it's a thin line between deeply touching and simply pathetic. She's the poor little girl of her successful dad and she complains most of the time (and when she doesn't complain you're supposed to feel sympathy). In the Taste of others Bacri was not weeping (or begging for sympathy), he was gaining a new vision over his life, and the others were pretending to gain it too. For what it takes in 'Comme une image' to cast a compassionate look at others Bacri and Jaoui got the best parts - those smoothly cornering the movie to its end.

Disappointing Narcissicm

[rachreby · 1/10 · 7 May 2005]

Does the emperor wear no clothes? As soon as the movie started, I knew I had been had. After doing my homework by reading almost every review in every national newspaper, and most user comments on IMDb.com, I concluded this should be a good movie. There was nary a unkind word said about it. There is a type of French movie, usually raved about, that lacks drama, conflict, humor, or characters you can identify with. After two unbelievably long tortuous hours, I discovered this movie is two hours too long. It was as if the reviewers were praising the previous works of the directors and writers. If comparisons were made to Woody Allen's movies they are right. It resembles his last four movies, all of which bombed and as the French say, was chiant! Maybe I am the only one on earth who disliked this film, but if I were you, I would avoid it. My wife agreed with me, although I have to admit she slept through most of it.

Not a false note in the whole film!

[Red-125 · 10/10 · 21 May 2005]

Comme une image (2004) was co-scripted and directed by Agnès Jaoui. (The film is known as Look at Me in the U.S. It's a reasonable title--just not the title the Director gave it.)

The plot concerns a group of educated and successful Parisians whose lives intersect in both Paris and Burgundy. The protagonist is Lolita Cassard, played by Marilou Berry. Lolita is a dedicated vocal student, whose most serious problem is that her father--played by Jean-Pierre Bacri--is too self-absorbed to pay much attention to her. Étienne Cassard is a noted author and publisher, who cares about his work, his position of power, and, to some extent, his beautiful trophy wife and their young daughter (Lolita's half-sister). Lolita's life is more trouble to him than he cares to accept, so he chooses to ignore her or belittle her.

Lolita is overweight, and acutely conscious of this because she is surrounded by elegant women of all ages who are slender. Lolita blames her problems on her weight and--reasonably enough--she can't bring herself to accept her father's lack of interest, let alone his lack of compassion.

Into this equation comes Sylvia Millet, Lolita's vocal coach. Incredibly, director/screenwriter Jaoui also stars in this pivotal role. (It's hard to believe that Jaoui can be both an outstanding director and an experienced star. It's even harder to believe that she can direct herself in such a nuanced and intelligent performance. She must be Wonder Woman!)

Sylvia has true compassion and affection for Lolita, but she's not a saint, and is not above using her influence with Lolita to advance her husband's writing career.

To my mind, Agnès Jaoui represents the perfect French film star. She looks talented, intelligent, and strong, and she's also very attractive in a non-conventional way.

One reviewer wrote, "Look at Me is about nothing and everything simultaneously." I disagree. It's not about everything, but it is about love, friendship, ambition, hurtfulness, and betrayal.

Classical music is played and sung throughout the film, and it's outstanding. Be prepared to hear songs and arias by Verdi, Offenbach, Monteverdi, and Mozart.

Jaoui (with her costar Bacri) won the Best Screenplay award at Cannes. With great acting, direction, music and script, this movie is not to be missed!

Charming until the end

[tomato-13 · 7/10 · 1 June 2005]

The main problem: Why develop so many characters if you're just going to end it by resolving one or two conflicts? For me, it seemed incomplete. The characters all seem to be very nicely developed- my favorite character, for instance, was Pierre. What happened to him and his relation to his wife? What about the father and Karine? What about the conflict between Pierre, his wife and Edith? Just seems like a lot of this are left open-ended. That said, the movie has some great lines, music, charming characters, and I recommend it. I never really got the feeling that it dragged on- only that they didn't truly end it- and this bothered me.

So, in sum: The problem is that they really focus too much on resolving her little love-thing with Sebastien instead of giving a complete resolution for all the developed characters of the film

Unsatisfying story went nowhere

[bobbobwhite · 5/10 · 16 August 2005]

This film ended about the same as it started..... unattractive, chubby daughter with moderate singing talent still unrecognized and ignored by her jerk playwright father and bitching constantly about it, jerk playwright father still obsessed with himself and rude and arrogant and unfair to everyone, all the women still backing their men and stifling any responses to unfair and mean treatment in typical subservient European manner, and the weeny quasi-boyfriend of the singer daughter still a weeny. Only the writer looked like he may see some life progress, as his latest book was finally, finally, finally accepted by a publisher.

This French slice of life story ended unsatisfactorily for me as it mostly went nowhere, had an abrupt ending, and the characters were mostly uninteresting.

A Well-Balanced Comedy of Character (and the Occasional Lack Thereof)

[aliasanythingyouwant · 21 January 2006]

Agnes Jaoui's Look at Me is an almost perfectly-pitched comic character study, a nimble, amusing and thoughtful portrait of flawed people and their unlikely relationships. The principals form their attachments through a combination of accident and ambition: Lolita (Marilou Berry), the daughter of famous writer Etienne Cassard (Jean-Pierre Bacri), seeks the aid of an overworked music teacher, Sylvia (Agnes Jaoui), in rehearsing her chorale group for an up-coming performance. Sylvia has no interest in helping Lolita, whom she considers a bit of a pest, until realizing who Lolita's father is; wishing to meet the famous Cassard, who might be able to help her struggling-writer husband Pierre's (Laurent Grevill) career, Sylvia agrees to coach the ensemble. Cassard, taken with Sylvia and Pierre, helps the fledgling author; a rave article appears in a big newspaper, and Pierre is on his way to fame and fortune. Things come to a head, however, during one of those beloved French weekends in the country (where would French cinema be without weekends in the country): Cassard demonstrates himself to be a jerk by dressing-down his young, attractive wife Karine (Virginie Desarnauts) in front of everyone; Lolita realizes that her boyfriend Mathieu (Julien Baumgartner) is only interested in her because she's the daughter of the famous Cassard; Sylvia realizes what a jerk SHE is for trying to use poor Lolita, etc., The central character, Lolita, has the misfortune of being the off-spring of a famous man; she seems doomed always to exist in his shadow, to fail in every effort to gain attention for herself (to get someone to look at her). She's overweight, and chatters incessantly, and puts inordinate pressure on herself, but Agnes Jaoui has not conceived her as a poor, downtrodden victim; instead Jaoui has made her as self-absorbed as her father, as desperate for validation, creating a dynamic between them that feels wholly convincing, the friction that always exists between family members who are more alike than they would care to admit. The other important relationship is that of Sylvia to Pierre; Sylvia seems a woman of integrity, despite her rather shameless use of Lolita to gain entrée into Cassard's circle, but Pierre, after years of struggle, seems all-too-willing to toss his principles out the window in the name of success (he appears on a ridiculous talk-show, confetti raining on his head and half-naked girls grinding in his face; Sylvia can only sit on the sofa and stare in astonishment at what her husband has gotten himself into). Jaoui's intent is to delineate these characters precisely, to sketch as minutely as possible their motives, to map out their inter-relationships. And she achieves this, without apparent detriment to the narrative which moves briskly and confidently, and with the aid of several excellent performers. Marilou Berry is both sunny and gloomy as Lolita; she has her moments of self-doubt, almost of depression, but is too fundamentally driven, too stubborn, to allow her disappointments to stop her. Her father, Cassard, is played by Jean-Pierre Bacri as a man who has bought into his own hype so completely that he's forgotten he was ever anyone other than the eminent personage he's become (he's forgotten what it was like to be young and insecure like Lolita, and behaves thoughtlessly toward her). As Sylvia, Agnes Jaoui finds a sort of middle-ground between Lolita's self-doubt and Cassard's arrogance; and as her confused husband Pierre, Laurent Grevill projects the right kind of blandness alongside the dynamic Cassard, whom he idolizes but doesn't measure up to (Cassard may be a creep, but he wouldn't be caught dead on a dumb TV show). Jaoui orchestrates the comedy proficiently, eliciting performances that strike a nice balance between comic mannerism and naturalistic credibility (Bacri is especially strong, playing Cassard with an array of tellingly affected gestures while maintaining an undertone of quiet befuddlement). The one word that sums up the movie is "balance": balance between comic intention and essential believability, bitterness and reconciliation, ambition and empathy, intimacy and discretion.

Inconsistent in quality

[JuguAbraham · 6/10 · 8 December 2004]

Agnes Jaoui is a talented lady--a good actress, an above average scriptwriter, and a passable film director. This film "Look at me" is her second directorial effort that I got to see at the on-going Dubai international film festival. The film has won the screenplay award at Cannes in 2004.

I believe the script was very good, while the screenplay was average. Is there a distinction? The script is peppered with good wit and psychological insights. The screenplay flounders with characters that are poorly developed especially when the director is also the co-writer (e.g., why does the belligerent taxi driver suddenly get subdued by a remark of a passenger, what happens to the male dancer who dances with Jaoui's character at the juvenile dance party) and disappear with no apparent logic.

Agnes Jaoui comes through as an accomplished actress in a film that does not stand out among scores of French films that have explored such scenarios (take Agnes Varda's films, for example). The film made by a woman predictably reduces the males into less impressive characters, often stupid and egotistical. In contrast, the women bloom in the film.

For those not familiar with French cinema, this would appear to be a significant film. For me, this film had flaws and some flashes of brilliance.

Comedy of bad manners, good dialogue, and a plot that fizzles

[Chris Knipp · 6/10 · 11 April 2005]

In Agnès Jaoui's ably written but weakly plotted comedy of manners Look at Me (Comme une image) Étienne (Jean-Pierre Bacri) is a famous French writer and publisher with a young, thin, beautiful blonde wife named Karine (Virginie Desarnauts). His daughter Lolita (Marylou Berry) is a fat girl with a placid Mediterranean face. That face is more accepting than the role implies, because Lolita is always either pouting at the world for not having made her thin, beautiful, and devastatingly talented or dissolving in tears at some new act of unkindness from Étienne. He's a real 'conard' -- a big-time jerk. He pays little attention to anyone but himself and ignores as much as possible Lolita's diligent efforts to train as a singer and actress and be somebody. Étienne, who vies with Lolita to be the movie's most unappealing person, is verbally cruel to Karine too, always with the excuse that he's "just joking." There's also a writer named Pierre (Laurent Grévill) who wallows in self-disgust. His wife Sylvia -- ably played by Jaoui herself and ultimately the movie's most sympathetic and morally perceptive character -- is Lolita's singing teacher. Should we be surprised that she doubts both Lolita's talents and her own? Lolita complains that people are only nice to her because they want favors from her father, and that proves true at first of Sylvia, who refuses to go to a concert Lolita's in till she learns who Lolita's father is and realizes he can help her husband. (Actually Pierre's fortunes improve without help from Lolita or Étienne.) There's also a forgettable boyfriend of Lolita's, who appears and disappears, and a new boy on the scene, Sébastien, whose original name was Raschid and who wants to start a magazine with some friends. Like Lolita, Sébastien feels that nobody has ever given him a fair shake. Lolita's too self-absorbed to realize that Sébastien really likes her for herself.

Look at Me is a study of misbehavior and self-loathing. Nobody, including Étienne, whose creative spark has gone out, has any pleasure being who they are. When people aren't pouting or wailing they're going off on somebody else. This even includes the taxi driver in the opening scene, who's so rude to Lolita you'd think he works for her father. The next sequence is a reception in which Étienne is the star and Lolita can't even get in. Bystanders ignore Sébastien when he falls down with a seizure on the street where Lolita's waiting. She puts her coat over him, and that's how they meet.

My friend said Look at Me reminded him of Eric Rohmer's films because it had a lot of good French talk and not much action. But Rohmer would never feature a 'conard' like Étienne as central figure, though it might add interest if he did. Rohmer's characters are always looking for lovers and always look good and act nice -- two qualities conspicuously lacking here.

Given that Lolita's ignored by Étienne, it's a bit odd that Édith would court her favor: sometimes the Bacri-Jaoui team is so eager to make everybody look neurotic, they strain credulity; and since Bacri and Jaoui used to be married and this isn't their first co-project, ambivalence about the characters they play and create may be built into the relationship. Bacri may be a little too famous himself for the role of a famous man. The movie partakes of some of the uncomfortable self-referential qualities of husband and wife team Yvan Attal and Charlotte Gainsbourg's movie, My Wife Is an Actress.

At times there is something artificial, even confused, about the story setup. While the meandering plot and ensemble acting may be in the great tradition of films like Renoir's Rules of the Game, the ironic, cruel, ultimately narrow focus of the action of Look at Me leaves a very different taste in the mouth. A film whose climax is a vocal concert in a small provincial church may need a little more than two tentative lovers as a finale.

Perhaps it's a strength of the piece that Étienne never apologizes to Lolita or to Édith (or to anybody else), but it's a little hard to see where Look at Me is going. One French paper, L'Humanité, commented that comedies of manners with incisive dialogue but shaky rhythm are a Jaoui/Bacri trademark now. The movie tends to make its points over and over and its spoiled, self-centered artistic and literary people may seem quite a bore. But as a portrait of certain kinds of (French?) bad manners the movie is both detailed and balanced: these people certainly are bores, but they're never demonized.

Some kind of decisive plot development could have turned this sour comedy into a strong movie. You'd never expect, or want, anybody in a Rohmer film to get killed, but Chabrol or Hitchcock would have done Étienne in early on, and we might have liked to see that. Why should Étienne be allowed to linger to the end?

Individualism versus Egalitarianism

[donald7063 · 8/10 · 8 December 2004]

A beautifully crafted and acted film where the director Agnes Jaoui, who incidentally plays a leading role in the film supporting and coaching, Marilou Berry as Lolita a budding singer, for me the star of the film, who has to come to terms with her father's and his immediate circle of friends individualism.

As in all good films the pace is wonderful as the protagonists are slowly bought together, egos waxing and waning as they seek out what is best for themselves and to hell with everyone else. That is except for Sebastian who early in the film senses Lolita's, unbeknown to her, egalitarianism. The film ends with Lolita's awakening to the richness of a sharing society, while the director announces where her sympathies lie courtesy of the father's hi fi player.

Yet another French cultural swipe at Hollywood. Highly recommended.

good, but...

[baruch-1 · 7/10 · 3 April 2005]

very enjoyable, & as many professional reviews indicated, an incisive glimpse into the inside world of artists, via writers & publishers; & how manipulative & narcissistic those who have fame & power can be. on the other hand, it also portrays those who are more than willing to fawn over the powerful to advance their agendas. without giving away plot, etc... several questions are raised after viewing this movie: 1. it is never made clear who m. tessier is? is he the purchaser of etienne's publishing house? or what...? 2. it is unclear what is happening when pierre is snubbed by etienne at the reception after etienne's daughter's recital? is etienne bored with him? is he discarding him? 3. it is very unclear as to etienne's reticence about going to italy? for what? & why is pierre affected? 4. has pierre left his agent & his old publishing house to join etienne's? or what? 4. sylvia represents morality; however, there is no real finality after she leaves the country house? at the very least, the director owes the audience an explanation for sitting thru the film.

none of these detract from the film, but it leaves empty voids that could have been easily explained.

An image to uphold!

[jotix100 · 8/10 · 30 April 2005]

The tremendously talented Agnes Jaoui, the director of "Look at Me", is a talented actress as well. The screen play is a collaboration with the principal actor in the film, Jean Pierre Bacri. The film's translation would have been better as "Like an Image", rather than the one it got. This is a film about disorientation and alienation between an impressionable young woman and her self centered father.

Young Lolita is a talented girl. She had tried to be an actress and now, as the film begins she is taking singing lessons. Her voice, indeed, is a powerful and beautiful instrument. Her music teacher, the kind Sylvia, has too much to do with all her students to pay particular attention to this plump, but pretty, girl until she hears about Lolita being the daughter of the influential Etienne Cassard.

The problem with Etienne is that he has married a younger woman who apparently loves him, but Karine has definite ideas about what is to have BCBG (bon chic, bon genre) among her circle. She's horrified to let her daughter have ice cream! Horreur! A chubby daughter, mais non! It is clear that Etienne couldn't care less for what happens to his older daughter, at the moment she most needs him. In a way, the image of the title is something this bourgeois man wants to maintain. He is one of the shallowest men in recent French movies! When at the end, during Lolita's triumphal recital, Etienne runs away from the church where the concert is being held, he does the ultimate coward act of his life; in a way he betrays the daughter who loves him and is trying to show she is worthy of his love.

The film is well written, but the problem is that some of the characters appear to be one dimensional people. There is no warmth whatsoever between anyone with the exception of the love that grows between Lolita and Sebastien, the young man that loves her in silence.

The lovely Marilou Berry makes a fabulous appearance. She is the only one in the film that gets our attention and compassion. Agnes Jaoui, is also the other one in the film that elicits our sympathy. Ms. Jaoui's Sylvia shows a complex woman turned off by all the shallowness around her, including her own husband Pierre. Jean Pierre Bacri, another excellent actor is given the terrible task to portray the horrible Etienne. The rest of the cast is good under Ms. Jaoui's direction.

This is a film that feels cold from beginning to end. That said, "Look at Me" offers us a good character study of the people that move in the literary circles, not only of France, but all over. No doubt the talented Ms. Jaoui's next time out will be even better!

No character change

[rebecka-domig · 7/10 · 2 August 2005]

I went away from this movie with a strange feeling of uneasiness. On the one hand I found the movie very well done, with nice pictures and situations depicted. -I liked how the ad with the model and the cat always pops up again. (The irony that a relationship between a pet and a human being is advertised while the humans can't get along with each other...)

But on the other hand I felt that this movie didn't succeed. -And after some thinking, I believe it to be the missing character change! This inability to understand each other (allthough everybody is constantly using cell phones -communication devices without actually communicating) goes so far that at the end of the movie no one has changed for the better -or "learned" something from his mistakes, you could say.

No, I guess the writer (name?) husband of the singing teacher changes for the worse, which is a start at character development, but it doesn't take hold of my attention very much.

Now, why do I view character change as essential? Because I believe that in our innermost, we want to go to the movies to see people succeed. And we see success in overcoming failures and faults, even tiny faults. We see success in becoming a little tiny bit "better". That is not the only goal of movies, I know, to show success, and this movie does a good job of showing the broken reality, but it stops there, instead of going on to show how to relationships could maybe work...

Once more into the valley of dire voyeurism

[robert-642 · 1/10 · 3 May 2005]

Oh dear! Unless you are a long time accomplished film maker the last thing you should do is write, act and direct your own film. Others may wish to wax lyrical about this film and even indulge in over analysis to parade one's intellect but whatever you say or think it will not take away from the fact that the film is as engaging as watching an ice cream melt in the sun - but worse! It has no style, panache or drama. It is numbingly flat. The synopsis is given elsewhere so I shan't make any further comments just observations.

The music jars against the acting. It is over indulgent and repetitive and bears no relationship to the structure. It is pretentious as is the making of the film on the DVD. Because the director may like Monteverdi and Mozart it doesn't mean it sits well with the film. Maybe a few days watching Italian films would give her a sense of synchronicity. I'm sure Mike Radford or Guiseppe Tornatore could teach her a few tricks.

As to the so called plot. It is nothing less than voyeuristic. It is a brief look at French middle class angst that teaches us nothing. As to the fat Lolita that craves daddy's attention. So what's new? It seems that the French excel at films about the nouveau bourgeoisie and "Comme une image" is no exception. It shows nothing about modern relationships and neuroses that we don't already know. It is totally lacking in drama of any kind. There is no remarkable acting or anything to captivate the viewers attention. A discussion on the pros and cons of stewed rabbit in a bucolic retreat speaks volumes about the literary style of the film.

Finally, it is sad that this film received the plaudits it did. There are many other French films more deserving. But if you want kitchen sink drama along with dirty pots and rabbit entrails then this may suit you.

One star for the crew not the actors or film. And I'm being generous.

Ironic, funny and true-to-life.

[iamktbabe · 8/10 · 16 January 2009]

In this brilliant satire we see the vicious social circle of sycophants and egotists in the middle class artistic world-- full of those who can do no wrong, and get away with their 'pleasantries' just because they were once hailed a literary genius. Jean-Pierre Bacri, Etienne, plays a pompous, arrogant Father (though seemingly only by name, and not by nature) to Lolita (Marilou Berry), who has grown up to become suspicious and paranoid through lack of affection from Etienne, and being used by boyfriends to get to her famous Father. Despite her role being one that should be easy to sympathise with, she too has fallen into the trap of striving too hard for what she wants (her Father's approval) and in the process, dismisses those who show true kindness and care towards her. In a way, the way that Etienne treats Lolita (and thus the reason why she resents him) is exactly how she treats Sebastien, and to an extent, Karine. 'Look at Me' documents a new writer's entrance to this self-centred world-- Pierre (Laurent Grevill), and shows him be enchanted by the poisonous scent of success, causing disruption and pathetic lies between his friends, and his wife Sylvia (Jaoui). Despite the reoccurring theme of music throughout this smart, real-life drama, there is no Hollywood-esquire crescendo where the evil Father realises his wrongdoings and starts to adore and cherish his daughter. No, instead, we see no change in this corrupted, self-centred, image-obsessed writer. A stark reminder of what happens in real life. And very cleverly done.

Love, doubts and jealousy...

[rainking_es · 7/10 · 17 June 2006]

The relationship between a selfish and vain successful writer that's going' through sort of a midlife crisis and her daughter, a girls that's rather ugly and fat, with so many hang-ups, who feels that his so famous father doesn't give a damn about her. Although the initial premise might look rather dramatic, the truth is that there's so much sense of humor in this movie, especially in the father's character. He's not only a conceited person, but a cynical and full of sarcasm one.

Love, doubts, jealousy... There are not much surprises in this kind of cinema, and obviously those who are looking for thrilling experiences won't like it. On the contrary, if you like the movies that are dialog-based, life alike, Eric Rohmer and stuff... well, you should give this one a try.

*My rate: 7/10

a restrained soap

[mbloxham · 4/10 · 27 December 2005]

to the extent that the English title, look at me, captures the actual intent of the film, it possesses in this a focus, and the two actors playing father and daughter play it out exceedingly well. but the remainder of its discernible subject is a theme of bourgeois professional games, and here potential tensions are barely introduced let alone resolved, so that characters remain no more developed, distinguished, than in a soap. this causes the piece to be very firmly one appropriate to television, not the cinema, and it is a commentary on the influence of the former that this film has garnered so many awards.