Priceless

Synopsis: Irene (Audrey Tautou) is a gold-digger on the French Riviera. Moving from rich old man to rich old man, she gives them attention and they give her access to their Visa cards and cheque books. When she mistakes a bartender, Jean (Gad Elmaleh), for another rich target, her life is upset as he becomes smitten and determines to win her over. No matter the cost. And she’s way beyond his means…

Audrey Tautou needs a feed. There's something disturbing about watching an attractive woman, elegantly dressed, and only being able to notice that her ribs are poking out. It's a good analogy for the film itself - it's beautiful and elegant but with something that disturbs deeply.

There's a great spirit to this happy-go-lucky story. Jean is downtrodden and seems happy to accept this as his lot in life. But when he meets Irene he takes a risk. And in the end, they both have their lives collapse as their charade is discovered. He loses his job and she loses her sugar daddy. They're both ruined. So she leaves in search of greener pastures. But instead of accepting defeat, Jean chases Irene and bankrupts himself to try and win her over. But his charms aren't as great as richer men's wallets, so he loses out again. Destitute, he's almost done for when he accidentally falls into the game himself, picked up by an older woman. Where once Jean and Irene had nothing much in common, suddenly she's teaching him the tricks of the trade. How to pout, sulk and whine to get everything he wants, so long as it has a price tag. It sounds awful, but it's actually very funny.

The slow evolution of their relationship is lighthearted, as is the dark-as-pitch view of gold-diggers and the rich old men and women who play their game. The film doesn't flinch from the nasty side of things, but it doesn't dwell on it too deeply either. It only really sees the funny side, especially as Jean and Irene engage in a competition to try and trump each other in how to extract the most from their "benefactors". Love may be wonderful, but it doesn't pay the bills. But slowly, the warmth with which Jean treats Irene wins her over, and then everything gets complicated again.

The supporting cast of rich snobs picking and choosing their bright young things do a good job of being repulsive and offensive. The way they treat people as tradable objects is played for laughs, but that doesn't make them any less ugly. But really, this is a two-hander between Jean and Irene as he does whatever it takes to win her over. Fun and fluffy, but with a nasty underbelly that doesn't get explored, it creates a tension made all the more interesting by the fact that it avoids drawing attention to itself. A heart of darkness where love is only redeemed by jealousy, this is a film that, perhaps unintentionally, shows the complications and abuses of the "love will find a way" philosophy of life.

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