Review of Lila Says (2005) by Ross W — 31 Mar 2010

Lila Says is a French erotic coming-of-age story. It portrays the relationship between a young Arab man named Chimo and a beautiful young French woman named Lila. Chimo is a 19 year old without much direction. He lives with his mother in an apartment. His father left his mother for a French woman, and his mother is yet to really move on from this loss. Lila is an orphan who lives with an Aunt. She stands out in the predominantly Arab neighborhood because she is both beautiful and white. Chimo's buddies oggle her as she walks by, and they all desire her sexually. However, Lila pays them no mind, treats them as if they don't exist, save for Chimo. For some reason, she senses something in Chimo, and Chimo and Lila engage in a steamy friendship that is largely propelled by Lila's blunt discussion of her sexual fantasies.

Sex is the primary theme of this film. Unfortunately, it is also about the only theme. The conflict between Arab and French culture is only mildly expressed, although it feels like it wants to be more of a factor than it really is. The main conflict of the film is. . .not really much. You watch a seemingly promiscuous young woman and a somewhat naive young man's friendship grow, and the only real conflicts exist on an ancillary level, only briefly coming front and center. Lila has a few issues she is confronted with, but her character is so strong that she never endures any struggle. Chimo, the point of view character, endures some struggle with his friends over his relationship to Lila. The majority of the film seems to be spent wondering if and when Lila and Chimo are going to have sex.

The film is a tease. While I'm not all that wild about this film, I will concede the sexual tension is very well done, which is important, because this is the film's circulatory system, it's what gives it life. The role of Lila is a somewhat daring one, and the girl playing her embodies the erotic nature of Lila with confidence and conviction.

The film might appeal more to males or lesbians because of its intense expression of female sexuality. Basically, if you're not turned on by this girl's performance then you're going to be extremely bored (so let's hope you like blondes). However, the guy who plays Chimo is very handsome, so there is a bit of eye candy for female viewers.

There are some beautiful moments in the film, but they are infrequent. The story is a bit muddled, and I was left with several unanswered questions, forcing me to make assumptions which may or may not be correct, and it's not like I was trying to solve a crime, I just wanted to know more about these characters. Personally, I think the narrative technique of using Chimo as the point of view character was a mistake. It seemed to me that the character of Lila was far more interesting. However, since we are not invited to stand in her shoes, we don't get to experience what she experiences. Instead, we stand in Chimo's shoes, and basically all he wants is Lila so it makes for rather dull suspense since there is not much at stake. He either gets the girl or he doesn't. But Lila has a few interesting side-stories that are only lightly touched on, once again, because we see them through Chimo's eyes. Of course, if the film was told through Lila's point of view, then we wouldn't have all the steamy eroticism of her character to stare at, but this probably wouldn't be a bad thing. Themes of sex can be interesting, but can also get old fast.

This film doesn't suck. I was entertained. But this film will not stay with me. It had little to no resonance. Maybe it just wasn't for me. I would not deem it a must-see, and I would not recommend it to many of my friends.