Film: Priceless
Release date: 13th October 2008
Certificate: 12
Running time: 102 mins
Director: Pierre Salvadori
Starring: Audrey Tautou, Gad Elmaleh, Marie-Christine Adam, Vernon Dobtcheff, Jacques Spiesser
Genre: Comedy/Romance
Studio: Icon
Format: DVD
Country: France
Pierre Salvadori’s 2006 film Priceless (Hors de prix) draws comparisons to Blake Edwards’ 1961 classic, Breakfast at Tiffany’s. This romantic comedy, set amidst the playground of French High Society on the Côte d'Azur, sees a misguided femme fatale pursue a life of wealth, whilst a humble barman pursues a life of love.
Jean (Gad Elmaleh) is a rather shy and well mannered barman at a luxury hotel on the French Riviera, who one night, having been persuaded to have a drink with a guest of the hotel, ends up falling asleep on the bar lounge sofa. To Jean’s surprise, he is later awoken by Irène (Audrey Tautou), a beautiful gold-digger seeking a drink and some fun on her birthday, after her rich, elderly fiancé had passed out in their hotel room.
Jean, a man of few words, apologises for falling asleep on the sofa, but soon realises that Irène has mistakenly assumed him to be a guest of the hotel. Too embarrassed to admit that he works behind the bar, Jean instead opts to try and impress Irène with his panache and care-free demeanour, but soon falls into a lust trap that proves far too difficult to escape from.
Unfortunately for Jean, however, Irène soon discovers that he is penniless, and that having been seen with Jean by her fiancé, she has thrown away her greatest opportunity of a life of wealth and luxury. Irène therefore leaves the hotel immediately, and heads for the Côte d’Azur in search of another wealthy man seeking a high-cost, trophy wife.
Jean, however, has become far too captivated by Irène and her majestic beauty to just let her disappear, and he therefore follows her to the coast, where he uses his life savings trying to satisfy her expensive urges. Ironically, when Jean spends his last euro romantically stirring into Irène’s eyes for a mere ten seconds, he is forced to take on a similar role to that of Irène, as the gigolo to Madeleine (Marie-Christine Adam) the wealthy widow of the hotel.
As Irène works her magic on a lonely, rich man, she spares some time to take Jean under her wing as her gold-digging protégé, providing him with tips on how to get the most out of Madeleine, including a €30,000 watch. The more time the two spend together, though, the more fun they have, and the more difficult it becomes for Irène to detach herself from Jean for the purposes of her selfish pursuit of wealth…
The very nature of the film - as with the genre to which it belongs - lends itself to cliché and predictability, and so for those expecting twists and turns, and a conclusion that offers something a little more original, it is advisable to steer clear. Priceless is just about as obvious as they come, which is in fact not at all to the film’s detriment.
The storyline is one that has been used many times before, and approached in various different fashions over the years. Truman Capote’s 1958 novella Breakfast At Tiffany’s inspired Blake Edwards to produce the on-screen adaptation of the same name, which was unforgettably stylish and charming. The successful elements of that feature – the beautiful and sassy gold-digger; the modest and amiable man, and the wealthy, upper class setting – have been drawn upon by many Hollywood writers, but their attempts to emulate the success of Edwards’ film have been met with very mixed results.
Salvadori, however, is able to take these winning ingredients and infuse them wonderfully to bring about his desired result, which is a quintessentially humorous, yet elegant affair. The base material is of course an advantage, in the sense that it is a tried and tested formula, but making an audience laugh, and selecting actors which will bring the story to life, is still a complicated task.
Casting director Alain Charbit, therefore, is to be given credit for his selection. The number of beautiful, French actresses available is almost limitless, but at the conclusion of Priceless, it would seem almost foolish to have considered anybody but Audrey Tautou for this role. Much like Hepburn, Tautou possesses that natural beauty which justifies a confidence bordering on arrogance. Taotou, though, doesn’t merely look the part, but proves her versatility by producing a fantastically witty, sympathetic and lust-worthy performance.
Tautou’s comic timing, and gift for expressing just about every emotion, makes her perfect for this role. Irène is a more complex character than first meets the eye, and whilst coming across as shallow, immoral and heartless, in fact proves herself to be intelligent, deeply emotive and caring. Portraying such a self-preserving character in this type of feature takes something more than what most comedy actors are capable of, but with the assistance of Elmaleh, Tautou certainly achieves this outcome.
Jean, in stark contrast to Irène, is a coy introvert who possesses no desire to own expensive, material goods or to lead a life of luxury. In fact, Jean’s only real superficial moment is when he immediately falls for Irène, the only explanation for which being that she is so strikingly beautiful. Admirably, Jean’s character remains genuine throughout, and even when he chooses to bleed the lonely Madeleine of her money, his aspirations for doing so are plainly just to keep Irène interested.
Salvadori’s setting for the movie, the Côte d’Azur in the South of France, is a fitting location for such a story. The beautiful views, luxurious hotels and shops established only for the super rich, all reflect what it is that Irène seeks in life. Cleverly, however, Salvadori is also able to use this setting to add another element of humour to the film, and to show that money doesn’t necessarily buy class, personality or happiness. This theme, which is played upon throughout, is essential to the film’s success. It is this truth which the audience will urge Irène to recognise, in the hope that Jean will succeed in his pursuit.
Cliché and predictability ooze from the script, but this a witty, fast-paced and stylish feature nonetheless. Taotou’s classic beauty and flair, combined with Elmaleh’s almost expressionless charm and clumsy demeanour, results in a pleasantly entertaining film. It’s not quite priceless, but it is definitely valuable viewing. TMO
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