On the surface Angele & Tony is a slow moving French romance that seems to be below par. But when you go away and really think about the film you soon realise that while it is slow-moving the film affects your emotions in a way that very few romantic films do these days.
The film tells the story of Angele (Clotilde Hesme – Mysteries of Lisbon, Les derniers jours du monde) a young woman on parole who is desperate to find stability in her life. She wants to re-connect with her son, Yohan (Antoine Couleau) but she has been away from him for so long that he shies away from her, and his Grandparents are determined to fight her for custody. Angele decides the only way that she is going to get Yohan back into her life is to begin a relationship and get a job. She places a personal ad and meets fisherman, Tony (Gregory Gadebois – Hymen, An Ordinary Execution) who only his mother, Myriam (Evelyne Didi – Quartier lointain, Un camion en reparation) and brother, Ryan (Jerome Huguet – TV’S Diane, femme flic, Commissaire Cordier) in his life. And with his mother pining for his father and his brother searching for his father’s body and causing trouble with the local authorities, Tony really does have a lonely existence. Angele manages to get a job with Tony but can she seduce him and begin a relationship with him.
Director/screenwriter, Alix Delaporte really does take her audience on a ride with Angele & Tony. You like Tony straight away and because Delaporte deliberately doesn’t reveal all about Angele straight away you pretty soon think her intentions towards Tony are all bad… and the last thing you want to see is Tony hurt. This is all done by some brilliant writing by Delaporte who sets Tony up as the ‘lovable and very vulnerable loser’, the fact that his entire family is mourning the death of his father just adds to how sorry you feel for him. The only mistake Delaporte makes is trying to make a political comment by showing the treatment of the workers by the local authorities. This side-story only confuses the worldwide audience and seems to get in the way of the real story… the relationship between Angele and Tony.
This is the very rare time when the lack of romantic-chemistry between the leads actually enhances the film. Early on it seems like Angele and Tony are chalk and cheese and that only enhances the audience’s concerns that Angele is going to hurt Tony by chasing a relationship with him. But when the final credits are scrolling you will realise that the ‘anti-romance’ is actually the result of some fine acting performances by Clotilde Hesme and Gregory Gadebois. These are tough roles to act out and these two do it perfectly.
Angele & Tony isn’t your typical romance. Hollywood has got us used to the fact that a romance is made up of a ‘sexy’ cast and has a few laughs along the way. So when you come across a romance that is made up of a dramatic storyline consisting of an ex-crim struggling to get custody of her son and a family mourning the loss of loved one it tends to surprise the audience. In the end though Angele & Tony ends up being a nice romance that will take its audience on an emotional rollercoaster.
Year: 2010
Director: Adlix Delaporte
Stars: Clotilde Hesme, Antoine Couleau, Gregory Gadebois, Evelyne Didi, Jerome Huguet
Classification: MA15+
Runtime: 87 mins
Rating: 