Director: Pierre Salvadori
Starring: Audrey Tautou, Gad Elmaleh, Vernon Dobtcheff, Marie-Christine Adam, Jacques Spiesser, Annelise Hesme
Jean (Ged Elmaleh) is one of those characters in life who are undervalued. Acutely shy and overworked by the swanky hotel where he works on the Côte D'Azur, Jean finds himself walking uncooperative dogs for ungrateful owners, waiting at tables and tending the bar late into the night.
After one patron persuades the exhausted young man to join him in a drink or two and smoke one of his cigars, Jean falls asleep on the sofa. He is woken by Irène (Audrey Tautou) who has come for a drink alone, while her wealthy elderly lover Jacques (Vernon Dobtcheff) snoozes upstairs.
Irène mistakes Jean for a wealthy guest, and he is so smitten by the beautiful young woman who is treating him as a person, that he plays along. His shy awkwardness begins to melt away and when Irène makes clear that she wants to go to his room, he has no hesitation in taking her to the Imperial Suite.
In the morning Jean wakes to discover Irène and Jacques have left the hotel. One year later, they return and Jean quickly switches role. They sleep together again, but when Jacques discovers Irène's absence, he abandons her saying, 'I'll find you back where I found you: in a bar, in a miniskirt, looking nonchalant.'
Irène is not simply a young girl who has been swept off her feet by a rich old man; she is a calculating gold-digger, little more than an enterprising escort. She is quite happy to be the lover of a succession of men like Jacques who, in turn, are more than happy to spend small fortunes on clothes and jewellery for her.
Jean, too, is exposed and is quickly out of a job, but driven by vengeful spite, Irène persuades him to take her to another luxury hotel and spend all his money on her. She knows full well that he will do anything to spend more time with her. Soon his credit limit catches up with him and Irène tosses him aside. He is unable to pay the hotel bill, but is rescued by Madeleine (Marie-Christine Adam), a wealthy older woman. Jean is now the same as Irène.
© Copyright Tony Watkins (2008) www.culturewatch.org
Priceless, directed by Pierre Salvadori, is a delightful film, reminiscent of classic films from the fifties and sixties such as Roman Holiday and Breakfast at Tiffany's. Audrey's Tautou's look of innocence has echoes of Audrey Hepburn, and the Côte D'Azur setting also seems to make a connection back to that era.
The combination of sun, luxury, beauty and fun make for a very light-hearted feel. Irène and Jean are charming central characters. Irène's carefree pursuit of the fine things of life is seductive, while Jean's yearning love for her, coupled with his quiet acceptance of everything life throws at him and his growing confidence as a person, make it hard not to warm to them. We want the connection between them to work out well.
All of which easily blinds us to the dark and somewhat pathetic reality underlying it all. Of course we cannot help but love Irène, but that's true of the various men she ensnares and uses. She teaches Jean how to manipulate lovers in order to wring the maximum financial benefits out of them. 'You're a lethal weapon,' she tells him. 'Youth, charm - use that. Women can resist looks, but not charm.'
Interestingly, while researching this article, I spotted an advert for a website promising to link girls like Irène up with rich men: 'You are totally stunning, and you will not settle for less. You want to meet wealthy men - a friend who is rich, successful, generous and willing to take care of you, pamper you and treat you like a princess.' This seems to be a site which encourages young women to live as Irène does. But she is calculating, unprincipled and utterly self-absorbed. Everything she does is for herself, to satisfy her lust for things.
With a film like this, one expects love to triumph over everything in the end, yet along the way we are offered something many of us actually find very appealing. We are given a tantalising glimpse into the lavish life of the super-rich and shown a way in which ordinary, though charming and attractive, people are able to tap into it.
The final scenes may undercut the values of much of the film, but do we take away the idea that the opulence is irrelevant when you've found real love? Or that such a sumptuous life would really be great - and we could find love along the way?
We live in a society in which many people hanker, secretly or otherwise, after such things. How many will do whatever it takes to get them? They may not sleep with wealthy people, but they are prepared to manipulate, push, lie or cheat their way. Or they simply neglect relationships because they are too focused on material gains: it may be legal and appear respectable, but it's no less corrupting of society. Not for nothing does the Bible say that 'the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil' (2 Timothy 6:10, NLT).
Priceless remains a funny, charming and enjoyable film, and its final affirmation of love is profoundly important. But remind yourself as you watch it that, while the lifestyle superficially looks wonderful, the reality is shallow and corrupting. Irène doesn't only seduce her lovers, she seduces us too.
This article was first published on Damaris' Culturewatch website (www.culturewatch.org) - used with permission.
© Copyright Tony Watkins (2008)
