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14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A love that cannot be, September 22, 2003
In HE LOVES ME, HE LOVES ME NOT, Audrey Tautou once again has proven that she cannot be pigeonholed into the type of character she played in AMELIE. Each of her films validates the claim that Tautou is much more versatile and talented. In this film Tautou plays Angelique, a young woman in love with a married man. Angelique waits patiently and anxiously on the sidelines while his marriage deteriorates and he comes to claims her. While the audience is treated to what appears to be a typical romance during the first half of this film, the movie is suddenly rewound and an entirely new perspective on the same events is revealed. Multiple perspectives lead to new viewpoints. HE LOVES ME, HE LOVES ME NOT is a smart thriller movie which certainly caught me by surprise. When I rented this DVD I didn't expect to be treated with a film that delved deeper than a French romance, and I didn't expect to be fooled. Highly recommended.
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12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A romantic-comedy...or is it?, June 28, 2006
This is the story of Angelique. Angelique has fallen in love with a married doctor, but lately the doctor has been missing their dates and refusing to leave his pregnant wife. When he skips out on their promised trip to Florence, Angelique spirals into depression. Then the film jumps back to the beginning, and we see the whole story from the doctor's point-of-view. And what a view it is...
My sister recommended this to me after watching it in her French class. If you're going in expecting this to be a fluffy romance-comedy about two lovers who keep missing each other due to circumstance, be prepared for a huge shock halfway into the film. This film is not what it appears to be (no thanks to other reviewers who have spoiled it), and even after you know the whole story it still works well as a romantic thriller (and how many films do we know that fit into that genre?).
Of course the cruel-yet-fun thing to do would be to pass it off as a romantic comedy to your significant other, then watch their mouths slowly fall open in shock as the story reveals itself. As the film definitely merits repeat viewings, you might find yourself with the urge to play this joke sometime...
A definite gem. North American cinema rarely has the guts to think outside the box like this.
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23 of 29 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Splitting Up, February 14, 2003
Audrey Tautou's movie career began a scant 4 years ago with "The Venus Beauty Institute" and reached it's zenith, we thought with the delightful, though sometimes mean-spirited, "Amelie." And it looked like her current American release, "He Loves Me, He Love Me Not" was going down the same road that began with "Amelie": optimistic and waif-like Angelique (Tautou), always smiling, always pleasant, always looking for the good side of things, waiting patiently for the attentions of Mr. Right, who comes in the guise of Loic (Samuel Le Bihan). Then Angelique's psyche begins to unravel due to several acts of cruelty and thoughtlessness by Loic and director, Laetitia Colombani's sunny and light film begins a slow slide into a creepy suspense thriller. Colombani's touch is so assured and so deft that we hardly notice the gradual, unnerving change of mood and point of view...likewise with Tautou's performance. Angelique is the flip side of Amelie: appreciating the fragrance of a flower has now descended into throwing the flower into an incinerator and watching it burn. "He Loves Me, He Loves Me Not" is an unexpected, surprising and perverse pleasure but it is also ultimately a tribute to and an appreciation of Audrey Tautou's talent, resourcefulness and, more to the point the inner fortitude that demands that she move her career away from the tried and true.
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