Review of The Intouchables (2011) by Mike C — 04 Jan 2014
One of those movies with a vast difference between viewer rating (an 8.6 on imdb...No. 44 of all-time) vs the critics (a very mediocre 57/100 on metacritics). The complaint from critics is that you have a cliche story: rich and poor uniting to teach one another something. But, it's based on a true story and I didn't think there was anything particularly manipulative or unnatural about the two characters. In other words, I liked it!
Cluzet is great as a French Dustin Hoffman look-alike. Philippe is a very wealthy handicapped man who needs help with everything. Instead of hiring the usual, he takes on the black character played very well by Sy. Cluzet plays sophisticated very well and has a nice laughing face. Sy can also play sophisticated, all while keeping a very loose character. Without that dynamic, the movie would not be half as effective.
More than anything, it's just a film about friendship. The roles are clearly defined, but they take on more importance. If anything, that's about the most manipulative part of the movie: when Driss goes off and the standard caregivers take over. That and maybe a couple of scenes that push the envelope of what might really happen. At the end of the movie, you see the real characters. The caregiver is hispanic, not black. But as for moviemaking, I understand the change and it plays out nicely on the screen.
This review of The Intouchables (2011) was written by Mike C on 04 Jan 2014.
The Intouchables has generally received very positive reviews.
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