The French have always boasted a healthy appetite for romantic comedies, and Priceless is perhaps one of the most nourishing to date.
Director, Pierre Salvadori (Apres Vous) is something of a veteran in the romance genre, and in this screenplay, co-authored with Benoit Graffin, he manages to create a work that is both endearing and ludicrously funny. The plot is mildly reminiscent of the Coen Brothers 2003 George Clooney vehicle, Intolerable Cruelty, and centers on the evolving romance between would-be career bride Irene (Tautou) and bartender Jean (Elmaleh), whom she mistakes for a wealthy bachelor. In Priceless Audrey Tautou is no longer the innocent she once played to great acclaim in Jeunet's smash-hit Amelie, and her smoldering sex-siren is contrasted against the goofy good looks and impeccable comic timing of Moroccan born Gad Elmaleh.
Set amidst the opulent architecture and stunning ocean views of the world renowned Biarritz holiday coast, Priceless is decorated with exquisite fashion, beautiful people, and a sense of nonchalance that one often associates with people who spend the best part of their time "writing cheques". Tautou and Elmaleh find a wonderful chemistry in this laugh-out-loud comedy, and Salvadori's suspenseful narrative is the perfect vehicle for these two talented actors to play off against one another.
Priceless is not all laughs however, and through the disappointments of both protagonists, Salvadori explores the etiquette of attraction and the complexity of love and materialism, creating a romantic comedy far richer than the majority of its distant Hollywood cousins. Early in the film, a 1 Euro coin is offered to the audience as a symbol of time and materialist obsession, and ironically, it is with this 1 Euro that the love-smitten pair eventually purchases freedom. Along the way Jean and Irene compete for laughs and for the affections of their benefactors; and the look on Irene's face when Jean receives a 30,000 Euro Jaeger le Couture wristwatch as a gift from his sugar-mommy Madeleine can only be described as: Priceless.
Director, Pierre Salvadori (Apres Vous) is something of a veteran in the romance genre, and in this screenplay, co-authored with Benoit Graffin, he manages to create a work that is both endearing and ludicrously funny. The plot is mildly reminiscent of the Coen Brothers 2003 George Clooney vehicle, Intolerable Cruelty, and centers on the evolving romance between would-be career bride Irene (Tautou) and bartender Jean (Elmaleh), whom she mistakes for a wealthy bachelor. In Priceless Audrey Tautou is no longer the innocent she once played to great acclaim in Jeunet's smash-hit Amelie, and her smoldering sex-siren is contrasted against the goofy good looks and impeccable comic timing of Moroccan born Gad Elmaleh.
Set amidst the opulent architecture and stunning ocean views of the world renowned Biarritz holiday coast, Priceless is decorated with exquisite fashion, beautiful people, and a sense of nonchalance that one often associates with people who spend the best part of their time "writing cheques". Tautou and Elmaleh find a wonderful chemistry in this laugh-out-loud comedy, and Salvadori's suspenseful narrative is the perfect vehicle for these two talented actors to play off against one another.
Priceless is not all laughs however, and through the disappointments of both protagonists, Salvadori explores the etiquette of attraction and the complexity of love and materialism, creating a romantic comedy far richer than the majority of its distant Hollywood cousins. Early in the film, a 1 Euro coin is offered to the audience as a symbol of time and materialist obsession, and ironically, it is with this 1 Euro that the love-smitten pair eventually purchases freedom. Along the way Jean and Irene compete for laughs and for the affections of their benefactors; and the look on Irene's face when Jean receives a 30,000 Euro Jaeger le Couture wristwatch as a gift from his sugar-mommy Madeleine can only be described as: Priceless.