EVERYBODY LOVES JEANNE

Written, directed and with animations by Céline Devaux

Stars: Blanche Gardin and Laurent Lafitte

A Transmission Films release

In cinemas from 7 September

 

Previewed by Len Power 31 August 2023

 

Everybody has always loved Jeanne.  These days, however, she hates herself.

When Jeanne’s much-heralded ‘sea-cleaning machine’ fails monumentally, her life suddenly unravels.  Out of a job and with nowhere to turn next, Jeanne’s internalised self-doubt begins to spill to the surface.  To earn some fast cash, Jeanne heads to Lisbon in Portugal with the hopes of selling her late mother’s flat.

A clever exploration of self-doubt and embarrassment, it’s easy to relate to Jeanne’s interior voice, depicted here in amusing line-drawing animations as the ‘little ghost’.  She might appear cool and collected on the outside but that interior voice is causing major turmoil within.

Men only add to her confusion.  Running into a former classmate, Jean, at the airport, she is thrown by his over-familiar and quirky approach.  A former boyfriend, Vitor, in Lisbon still seems interested but now has a child from an open relationship.  Nothing is straightforward and, for a woman full of self-doubt and no money, life seems overwhelming.

Director and screenwriter, Céline Devaux, artfully juggles Jeanne, the men in her life and her mounting problems.  There’s a lot of truth here amidst the offbeat humour and the screenplay has a sensitivity that is moving as well as funny.

Blanche Gardin, who was very funny dealing with a social media problem in the 2020 film, ‘Delete History’, is superb as Jeanne, cool on the surface but a mess underneath.  Handsome Laurent Lafitte is a delight as the quirky former classmate, Jean.  Who wouldn’t be drawn to the charm of this man, even if he seems a little mad?

Laurent Lafitte (Jean) and Blanche Gardin (Jeanne)

There are good performances, too, from Nuno Lopes as the former boyfriend, Vitor, and Maxence Tual as Jeanne’s brother, Simon.  Marthe Keller makes effective ghost-like appearances as Jeanne’s mother.

Blanche Gardin (Jeanne) and Maxence Tual (Simon)

The film is a reminder that we should not take ourselves or our failures too seriously.  Jeanne’s problems may seem insurmountable and her inner voice is holding her back but is there a glimmer of light at the end of this long tunnel?

 

Len Power's reviews are also broadcast on Artsound FM 92.7 in the ‘Arts Cafe’ and ‘Arts About’ programs and published in his blog 'Just Power Writing' at https://justpowerwriting.blogspot.com/.