Review of Amélie (2001) by Johnnyeden — 22 Feb 2020

The plot of this movie wasn't perfect, as sometimes it seemed less about Amelie finding love than about Amelie helping others find love. So there was a certain murkiness to its drive. The overall aim of the story seemed to be to make the audience giggle, and in that it did a fine job. I giggled plenty while watching it. But then, I'm prone to giggling.

On that note, the tone of this movie was ironic. There is great tragedy at its core on many fronts, yet the tone is ceaselessly light. I came out of it feeling like I'd learned nothing but enjoyed the process.

One of the strengths of this movie was in the acting. While most characters were two-dimensional, the actors did an excellent job of finding the nuance in their roles, thus bringing 2D into 3D, and making the characters (and thus the film) more loveable or relatable.

Direction-wise, I'm left pondering a 'chicken or the egg' scenario involving Wes Anderson. The use of a very invasive narrator is/was charming, but after a certain amount of time grew a bit tiresome. That said, I think most of the choices made to create this film were good ones, and it was paced perfectly. The other great strengths of this movie were in its art. The score was a perfect whimsical soundtrack, bolstering the tone. Cinematically, the shots were designed with that same whimsicality, as well as playful coloring. Most of the mystery played out through deft camerawork, too. And finally, the sets, locales, and costumes boosted the story as well.

Overall, I found this film very enjoyable, and yet it didn't have that certain something that really wowed me. Most of it felt light and easy, but little of it felt truly novel.