Review of The Intouchables (2011) by Yoshi S — 14 Nov 2015

This huge hit is often hard to resist, such is the charm of the central relationship, and of Omar Sy's portrayal of Driss. If I was less heartless, I would've fully embraced it, arms open. Not so. This is a perfectly watchable piece of Oscar-bait, slathered in cheese and not much else, though it doesn't seem to mind one bit, zipping along with crowd-pleasing song choices and continually picking the low-hanging fruit. This is, not so stealthily, engineered for maximum audience enjoyment, with any sort of edge or grit purely at surface level, leaving a rich person's detached view of the banlieues. Most problematically for me, however, is this film's sincere lack of subtlety, with each joke, emotional beat and swelling moment just a little too facile.

This is a film devoid of nuance, though I guess that's not always a bad thing. I must concede that I chuckled and came close to feeling some of the emotions I knew I was supposed to feel. Looking back, I feel manipulated and cheated by Untouchable, and this memory only sours when you think back to some light racial stereotyping and dodgy sexual politics. I'm no liar, however, so I must conclude that this was a thoroughly entertaining watch whilst it lasted, just not a heavyweight picture of any significance beyond its astounding box-office success.