He Loves Me, He Loves Me Not begins quietly, with
Angelique (Audrey Tautou) among flowers of the brightest red. She is in a red
top to match. She selects one flower which she wishes to send to her boyfriend
as a surprise. The clerk tells her they don’t do deliveries for such small
orders. But who could refuse Angelique’s smiling, radiant face? And off the
delivery boy goes, while in the other direction Angelique rides off on her
bicycle (which is also a bright red).
Angelique is an artist who has won a prestigious
scholarship and must deliver fifteen paintings by the end of summer. She is
house-sitting for a family while completing her work. Her boyfriend, Loic, is a
cardiologist, and is married to a lawyer (but Angelique is certain he’ll be
leaving her soon).
The film moves like a beautiful dream, with lovely music
and fluid camera movements and bright colors to match Angelique’s passion and
perspective. And like a dream, there is almost no need for transitions – we see
her dancing, sneaking away for a private moment with Loic, then painting at the
house where she’s staying.
She paints a portrait of Loic for his birthday, and lets
him know she’ll see him soon. But as she waits at home, the music fades out,
and the beautiful dream seems over – or at least on hold. And the film goes
from reds dominating the screen to a shot of her in bed, alone, with blue
dominating. We also see Loic in bed, his wife next to him, bathed in the same
blue light.
Loic’s wife is pregnant, and as Angelique explains the
situation to her two friends, we begin to see a less lovely side to her. She
says: “The baby is just to trap him. She flaunts her fat belly! It’s just to
stop him from leaving her.” And when Angelique begins to think things will
work out again, the film returns to its dreamlike quality. She lives at the extremes
of her emotions, and when things are not going as she wishes, she is unable to
function. The film allows us to see things from her perspective, which is
delightfully frightening. (And you have to feel for the poor family who asked
her to house-sit.)
And then nearly halfway through the film, we go back to
the beginning again, and enter Loic’s world and his perspective. And that’s
when things really get interesting. While the first half is often like a dream,
the second half is like a nightmare.
This movie really pulled me in. The characters and
situations are compelling, and the performances are perfect. I love this film.
He Loves Me, He Loves Me Not was directed by
Laetitia Colombani, and was released on DVD on April 14, 2015 through First Run
Features. The DVD contains no special features. The film is presented in
French, with English subtitles.
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