Priceless

Priceless is an interesting proposition: a light romantic comedy with a dark character drama lurking under the surface. Jean (Elmaleh) is a down-on-his-luck bellboy/dogwalker on the French Riviera who hooks up with beautiful golddigger Irène (Tautou) after a drunken case of mistaken identity. The next morning, discovering he’s broke, Irene skedaddles, but Jean is smitten, and the film follows his attempts to, in essence, buy back her affections. It’s a French twist on Breakfast at Tiffany’s, but even though it’s got the style of the Audrey Hepburn classic, it doesn’t have half the charm. Strangely, the main problem is Audrey Tautou who, on the strength of her glowing performance in Amelie, is surely the ideal choice for a modern-day Holly Golightly. But Irène exudes none of the appeal that Tautou has previously shown, coming off as entirely shallow, selfish and unpleasant. It’s difficult to understand why Jean goes to such lengths to win her, although Elmaleh gives a performance that’s a masterclass in comic timing in an attempt to convince us. Raising a bunch of complex questions about the trade-off between love and cash, Priceless disregards them all and steamrolls intently towards a predictable rom-com conclusion, leaving a strange and none too pleasant aftertaste. [Parker Langley]