Review of Louise-Michel (2008) by Fernando C — 24 Jul 2010

"Louise-Michel" is an original and dark French comedy in which the leading characters live in the margins of society. They are the poor, the minimal wage workers, the delinquents and the intellectually impaired in search of revenge from the rich and the privileged. It is not a great movie but it is interesting enough for you to see it.

Gustave de Kervern and Benôit Delépine, have been working together for the last 10 years, and this is their third project as both writers and directors. The multi-awarded duo uses the shutting down of a factory in France as starting point of the script. After having been deceived by their employees the workers of the factory decided to use their lousy financial compensation to order the murder of the factory's director. The idea comes from Louise (Yolande Moreau), an ex-con with a questionable QI who feeds from pigeons that she hunts in traps. Louise takes the responsibility of arranging an executer and delivers the job to Michel (Bouli Lanners), a "man" who makes hits for a living and is evidently dressing a skin that isn´t his own (Louise finds him because Michel accidently drops a gun outside a coffee shop).

Gustave de Kervern and Benôit Delépine decide to do a black, corrosive and politically incorrect comedy (this is evident from the first scene of the movie, even before the opening credits) where its obvious a ferocious social and economic (global capitalism) criticism. We should not like the main characters: Louise having murdered someone in the past, Michel earning his life by "committing" murder (its better than being unemployed!), of both being less than bright and rude (a true trait of Louise character). They are amoral but in spite of this we cannot help to feel empathy for characters. They are the unprivileged deciding to take revenge, all ending with several deaths and a fantastic commemorative dance scene. It is pity that sometimes Kevern and Delépine push Louise-Michel surrealism to absurdity, paranoia and nonsense (especially with the engineer character), and that the CEO's character is absolutely stereotyped which jeopardizes the movie but not to the point of making it a bad one.

Yolande Moreau plays Louise perfectly managing to give her the necessary rudeness and amorality without making her hateful (responsibility that must be shared with the directing duo). Bouli Lanners is not at the same level but he plays well.

An interesting idea, amoral characters expressing a morality we are not capable off, a ferocious social and economic criticism and a lot of black humor make Louise-Michel a comedy you should see. ** (2/5).