Lorna Irvine reviews 'a good film' that's 'a trifle indulgent'.
From hands in the air euphoria to head in hands despair, Mia Hansen-Love's fourth feature film, co-written with brother Sven and loosely based on his clubbing exploits, charts wannabe superstar DJ Paul. As with Goodbye First Love, it crawls through the years: from the early 90s to 2009.
The clubbing scenes are sweatily authentic, and in-jokes like Daft Punk (playing themselves) getting refused entry to clubs are based on real-life scenarios.
Paul (Felix de Givry) is a complex character. De Givry plays him with the right amount of swagger, vulnerability and goofiness with his clique.
But it's Yasmin (Golshifteh Farahani), one of his many girlfriends and the most well-rounded, and geeky Arnaud (Vincent Macaigne), all hypochondria and appraisal of Showgirls as a satire on capitalism, who are most endearing. Others fade into a cocaine haze, interchangeable, or as with Greta Gerwig's Julia, seem more like plot devices than people.
If the first half's debauchery is a bit seen it all before, the second half is more thoughtful, focusing on the money running out, adult responsibilities and the House audience now looking for electro parties.
It's a good film, overall, if a trifle indulgent. Naturally, the soundtrack is great. But Hansen-Love's tendency to direct with a detached eye means she only skims the surface of her characterisation. Judicious pruning would make this a great film.
Dir: Mia Hansen-Love, France, 2014
Eden--Official HD Trailer (2015): http://youtu.be/2l1T9xs-o0o
RSS