‘The Innocent’ Review: A Slippery Comic Heist from French Heartthrob Director Louis Garrel
variety.comCatherine Bray The various elements of writer-director-star Louis Garrel’s low-key comic crime caper don’t sound that original at first glance.
The audience-friendly plot involves a troubled thirtysomething, Abel (Garrel), lured by family connections into assisting with a heist in order to protect those he loves.
In addition to this conscience-plagued hero, the cast of characters include Abel’s free-spirited mother (Anouk Grinberg), a reformed — or is he? — ex-con (Roschdy Zem), a manic-pixie dream girl-esque female lead (Noémie Merlant) and various shady underworld sorts mostly restricted to hiding in the shadows.
But this film is a slightly slipperier customer than a topline summary would suggest, with tonal shifts that shouldn’t work, but somehow do.
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