Criticism of ‘The innocent’, French-style robberies

The gender balance that Louis Garrel achieves in ‘The Innocent’ is no joke. Not just because he makes the mix of comedy and heist movie work, but because he does it without sacrificing anything from either genre. Abel (Louis Garrel) suspects that his mother’s new husband, an ex-convict, is planning a coup. With that starting point, Garrel builds a heist movie with an undeniable pulse, rhythm and grace. It elegantly displays the aesthetic constants of thrillers from different eras (the zoom seventies, a nod to ‘The French Connection’) and creates good characters and good comedy situations.

With the idea of ​​the game of appearances as the axis (exposed in the first scene, reiterated in the fantasy of the mother), Garrel elevates his film by taking comedy deeply seriously. This can be seen both in the extremely fine writing of the script (it has first-rate comedy situations, such as the one in the roadhouse) and in the confidence in the comedic potential of the actors: Noémie Merlant, who plays the protagonist’s friend, is absolutely incredible.

For fans of the best thriller and comedy combos

​

DATA SHEET

Address: louis garrell Distribution: Louis Garrel, Roschdy Zem, Anouk Grinberg, Noémie Merlant Country: France Year: 2022 Release date: 5–4-2023 Gender: Comedy Script: Louis Garrel, Tanguy Viel, Naïla Guiguet Duration: 100 min.

Synopsis: When Abel discovers that his mother, Sylvie, who is in her sixties, is about to marry a man in prison, he panics. Backed by Clémence, her best friend, he will do everything possible to try to protect her from her. But his meeting with Michel, his new stepfather, could offer Abel new perspectives…