Customer Reviews

Happily Ever After

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

"Ils se marièrent et eurent beaucoup d'enfants" ("Happily Ever After") is a cleverly written examination of contemporary views on love, lust, marriage, infidelity, and the single life. Writer/Director/Actor Yvan Attal has come up with a winner, an entertaining, funny, and ultimately thoughtful treatise on how we cope with partnering.

Three men work together in a car dealership. Vincent (Yvan Attal) is the apparently happily married man with a beautiful wife Gabrielle (Charlotte Gainsbourg) and child. Georges (Alain Chabat) on the other hand is in a tumultuous marriage with Nathalie (Emmanuelle Seigner) who has gender issues that go far beyond feminism and negatively influence their child. Fred (Alain Cohen) is single, bedding every lovely woman he encounters, balancing trysts between mornings, afternoons, and evenings and is deeply envied for his Don Juanism. But Fred actually longs for the sense of belonging that married men enjoy.

The men's lives intertwine on many levels. Most important, we discover that Vincent has a lover (Angie David) despite his idyllic married life and while it is Georges whom one would expect to seek solace from a lover, he remains faithful to his nagging wife! Gabrielle senses Vincent's affair and encounters a sexy man in a music shop (Johnny Depp) who begins to preoccupy her thoughts. She is a real estate broker and comes close to an assignation with a client but remains faithful. All the while she daydreams about her brief encounter with Depp and satisfies her wandering eye with those memories. Fred discovers that one of his paramours is pregnant and happily decides to leap into the married fray. The only 'adults' sharing advice here are Vincent's long married parents (Anouk Aimée and Claude Berri in very welcome comeback cameos!) and it is this 'standard' that adds the final humor to the film.

The manner in which all three men deal with their living situations asks as many questions as it gives answers. Attal finds joy in all forms of coupling and is careful to offer all sides of decisions his characters make in arriving at what provides them happiness. This is a smart movie with terrific twists. There is just enough slapstick (an all out food fight between Vincent and Gabrielle - real life husband and wife team Attal and Gainsbourg - that proves to be one of the fun-loving bits of silliness that binds their marriage) to keep the mood light. Not a profound film, but a joyous French comedy handled by total pros! In French and English with subtitles. Recommended. Grady Harp, October 05

In 2004, actor Yvan Attal ("Rush Hour 3', "Munich", "The Interpreter") had tremendous success with writing and directing his first film "Ma femme est une actrice" (2001, My Wife Is an Actress) and in 2004, he reunited with his real-life partner Charlotte Gainsbourg ("Antichrist", "21 Grams", "The Tree") for his second film which he wrote and directed titled "Ils se marièrent et eurent beaucoup d'enfants" (US Title: happily ever after) which would feature a cameo appearance by Johnny Depp and would star Sebastien Vidal, Chloe Combret, Alain Cohen, Caroline Gynning, Alain Chabat, Ben Attal and Emmanuelle Seigner.

The film revolves around a man named Vincent (played by Yvan Attal) and his wife Gabrielle (played by Charlotte Gainsbourg). The two are very much in love, married but somewhere after having kids and starting a family, the relationship has never been the same.

So, the film showcases how Vincent and his two male friends view marriage. Fred (played by Alain Cohen) is a bachelor who is near 50 and just loves having women available for sexual encounters, while Georges (played by Alain Chabat) is married to a beautiful blonde named Nathalie (played by Emmanuelle Seigner) and has a child. But Georges is not enjoying his marriage as his wife is always screaming down his neck and he doesn't know how to cope with it and wonders if his problems are because he went for a beautiful woman instead of other women that had a chance to be with at the time.

But as for Vincent, he looks like a man who is dedicated to his wife Gabrielle and his son. He and his wife give passionate kisses, he is there to play with his son but the truth is, Vincent is also having an affair with another woman. Meanwhile, his wife Gabrielle has a sense that Vincent is having an affair and she dreams of them being separated.

One day at a music store, while listening to Radiohead's "Creep", a man (played by Johnny Depp) listens to the music alongside with her and there appears to be a slight attraction between them and for the first time, Gabrielle finds herself being interested in the man. Can this feeling mean that she's wanting out of her marriage?

VIDEO:

"happily ever after" is presented in 2:35:1, letterboxed. Unfortunately back in the early 2000's, Kino Video wasn't known for their picture quality for their releases. Back then, even their trailers had burned in subtitles didn't look good at all and so people did voice their dissatisfaction back then. As for the film, picture quality is good but it does look a bit faded but it's important to note that quality-wise, Kino Video has stepped things up since 2005 and hopefully they consider this film for Blu-ray release. But as far this DVD goes, PQ is fine but not great.

AUDIO:

"happily ever after" is presented in Dolby Digital French with optional English subtitles. Dialogue is clear as with the music but it's pretty much a front and center channel driven soundtrack.

SPECIAL FEATURES:

"happily ever after" comes with the following special features:

* An interview with writer-director Yvan Attal - (11:57) Yvan Attal talks about how he got the idea for the film, how it's like to work with his partner Charlotte Gainsbourg and how the concept of the film changed overtime. Also, how he convinced Johnny Depp to have a cameo in the film and discussing the ending of the film as well as how Charlotte contributed to the film outside of acting.
* deleted scene - Yvan Attal comments - (3:00) A deleted scene from the film that would have changed the film in someways. A pivotal scene in which Yvan Attal explains why he cut it out. I'm glad he did.
* trailer - (1:59) The original KINO theatrical trailer with burned-in subtitles.
* stills gallery - Using your remote, you can cycle through various stills from the film.

JUDGMENT CALL:

For me, "happily ever after" was a purchase I made after I enjoyed Yvan Attal and Charlotte Gainsbourg's performance in the film "My Wife is an Actress" but I have to admit that one of the biggest joys of watching this film was when I was on YouTube and searching for Radiohead's "Creep" music video and I saw this video:

I just felt this video was just amazing and found out that it was from a scene from "happily ever after" and definitely inspired me to watch the film.

And I have to say that I enjoyed "happily ever after" and it's probably more in the context of being married and talking with other married men and questioning marriage of "does this happen to you?" and changes that happen in marriage, especially after children and those who have more than one children.

And decisions that people make and what Yvan Attal was able to write is what he saw happening in life around him. The concept of "Ils se marièrent et eurent beaucoup d'enfants" came to him when he was taking his son to school and noticing that many of the parents were single. "happily ever after" dissects the modern marriage, those who want the fairytale of happily ever after and those who don't understand what "happily ever after" is.

Going even deeper, the film in some ways explores the male perspective of marriage. Running a household, keeping your partner happy but also examining one's own weakness of being happy through sexual gratification or an emotional disconnect between husband and wife after one has children. I hear this all the time from friends and the fact is that many people feel that way. Some are able to accept life as is, while others can't and they look for that gratification elsewhere.

But where I feel Attal was very smart is by showing the female perspective through Gabrielle. Knowing that she loves her husband and family but also sensing that her husband is probably out with another woman and that is why he is hardly home and wanting to be with his friends. It tears her apart because she wants to keep the marriage strong. But when she goes to the music store, is touched by the lyrics of "Creep" by Radiohead and sees another man, she feels this attraction which she can't explain.

"happily ever after" is an enjoyable film, humorous, witty and a film that makes you laugh and smile. But at the same time, the film's title is not meant to re-enforce the concept of marriage. The film is to show that for many couples, it doesn't matter if you are in France, USA, UK, etc., in today's society, "happily ever after"...the fairy tale of a long and happy marriage with the person you love is disintegrating. These are what the men are thinking in this film. In fact, there is a fourth couple which features a husband and wife that truly love each other and for the character Georges, he doesn't understand how anyone can be happy in a marriage.

Meanwhile, Vince is a man who wants to have the fairy tale marriage that is "happily ever after" but at the same time, he finds himself wanting to have fun with another woman and tries to see if he can have both but doesn't know how this is emotionally hurting both women who love him.

But if there is one scene that did catch my attention and it was one of the smartest scenes without any dialogue and doesn't feature the main characters is a scene that features an older couple eating dinner and throughout the dinner, not one word is said. It's a powerful scene which I'm sure many couples can relate to.

As for the DVD, as mentioned, older KINO video DVD's were not known for its quality but I hold hope that this wonderful film will receive HD treatment and will be considered for Blu-ray. I would love to see this film in HD.

Overall, "happily ever after" is a fantastic film featuring strong performances from Yvan Attal and Charlotte Gainsbourg and the other talent in this film. The writing and cinematography (especially the music) are well-done. And I know the film goes against the trend of a romantic comedy and deals with the concept of marriage and the difficulties, but not every romance ends in a fairy tale, nor does every couple live happily ever after.

Definitely a film worth recommending! As for the DVD, not the greatest but let's hope the new KINO considers this film on Blu-ray.

I watched this film (which the French call "Ils se marièrent et eurent beaucoup d'enfants" = And They Married and Had Many Children) immediately after watching "One Day" starring Anne Hathaway and Jim Sturgess. Basically, "One Day" completely lacked any real emotional depth or personality, so I was starving for quality, and that's basically what I got with "happily ever after."

The acting was characteristically subtle, a little dark, and "urban," and featured high grade "Gainsbourg." High grade Gainsbourg means lots of cigarette smoke, ubiquitous blue jeans, and beaucoup emotion. She stares at you with those unremarkable looks, unremarkable lines, and unremarkable femininity. Yet the net effect is completely and powerfully (feminine and) remarkable! Here in the United States, we aren't able to appreciate acting like that, so we have to look overseas to find this kind of quality. (But remember to avoid the UK's "One Day.")

Plenty of humor mixed in between the occasionally morose reality.

Charlotte's character was very well developed, and you couldn't help but feel a huge sense of sympathy for her.

Great ambiguity about the motivation of each character. I loved the way it ended with the odd but beautiful "fantasy" elevator ride.

I enjoyed the way the director avoided a linear presentation of material. For example, you are wondering about why Charlotte's character is so worried about her husband's fidelity, because we don't find out until the film is about half over that he is cheating, but the sequence of events helps the viewer get closer to the central challenge of the film (perhaps the many dimensions of fidelity/infidelity), much better than the simple sequence of time.

This film left me feeling very certain about fidelity. And very uncertain about who had to clean up after that huge food fight.

While watching it a lot seemed banal, many of the supporting characters are stereotypes, and some
are just goofy. Johnny Depp has a cameo that took me out of the movie wondering more "is this
character supposed to literally be Johnny Depp the actor, or just a handsome stranger?" than
focusing on the scenes.

And the last scene was a piece of magical realism/fantasy jarringly out of place with the film that preceded it.

On the other hand, there are moments that stuck with me more the next day, and a nice, complex, intelligent
ambivalence about the difficulties of marriage, fidelity, and love.

Professional reviews ran the gamut from awful to great. Maybe I'll re-visit this one some day.

So many things were done well in this film about the eternal struggle between marriage and infidelity, but the soundtrack, in particular, was outstanding and masterful, especially in the last scene with the abrupt change from Velvet Underground to Henry Mancini. As one character put the dilemma : "All the women in the world on one side, and my wife on the other?!!" Vive les francais!...they always pause so perfectly, so stylishly, so gracefully before this question - like Jack Benny, pondering "Your money or your life?" - and they always so lovingly reply - "I'm thinking!"

Three French couples grapple with the ups and downs of relationships, wondering if anyone is actually ever happy, as the old refrain would have it. Naturally, the answer is quite ambiguous and complications ensue as all three weave in and around questions of fidelity. The American pop score bears little relation to the action, and gets downright bizarre when Elvis starts crooning. Johnny Dep makes a cameo appearance and seems to speak very good French. Who knew?

I thought this movie was somewhat good, but it was slow at some parts and the end was just a cliff hanger ( I Think). It didn't meet my expectations, but it wasn't horrible either.

What is it about the sweep of Charlotte Gainsburg's neck, at just that angle, that can be so utterly captivating?

I loved this film - the ensemble cast - in particular the women - intriguing, fragile, strong, cheeky, sassy.

There is a line in Moonstruck, where Olympia Dukakis comments about why men chase younger women "because they fear death". In this film you feel that insecurity - the fleeting nature of their time - and see the ways in which men might try to deal with that: food fights and infidelity, or a descent into a detached coldness of familiar and monotonous routine.

Saw it at the French film festival in Balwyn and it was my favourite film for the year.

This is an interesting and sexy, fun movie about couples and relationships. Someone on French Amazon said it best though...no one does adultery quite like the French. Of course the best part is the cameo appearance by Johnny Depp.

I LOVE Yvan Attal and Charlotte Gainsbourg and the first dvd "my Wife is an Actress" so this was a no brainer to buy.
But it's a less light hearted movie then the first, a tad more cynical which I didnt' love, but still just smooth as silk, charming, and very French. More thoughtful and serious but they're great actors, so how can you go wrong? :)