Cannes

Grown Ups

Les Grandes Personnes (France-Sweden)

By ALISSA SIMON

"Grown Ups"

A Moteur s'il vous plait (France)/DFM Fiktion, Film I Vast (Sweden) production, with the participation of CNC, TPS Star, CineCinema, with the support of Eurimages, Swedish Film Institute. (International sales: Memento, Paris). Produced by Christie Molia. Co-producers, Olivier Guerpillon, Tomas Eskilsson.
Directed by Anna Novion. Screenplay, Novion, Beatrice Colombier, Mathieu Robin.
 

A single French father and his shy teen daughter discover romance -- and deal with a shift in their own relationship -- during a Swedish summer holiday in modest but wistfully charming comic drama "Grown Ups." Debuting French helmer Anna Novion proves an astute observer of human interactions, catalyzing development of central pair with two supporting characters coming to decisions about their complicated love lives. Spot-on central perf from Gaul star Jean-Pierre Darroussin should give pic traction during autumn rollout in France. Elsewhere, Euro tube seems a good bet.

Divorced for many years, socially awkward know-it-all librarian Albert (Darroussin) has made a tradition of dragging daughter Jeanne (Anais Demoustier) to discover a different European country each year. He claims their trip to the rustic Gothenburg archipelago is her 17th birthday present, but he's clearly not interested in what she would prefer to see and do.

Always controlling, Albert has his own agenda of arcane enthusiasms about which he puts forth amusingly wrong-headed hypotheses. Novion gets great visual payoffs from a running joke about his passion for a metal detector with which he hopes to discover Viking treasure.

Due to a mixup in dates, their attractive landlady Annika (Lia Boysen) and outspoken French friend Christine (Judith Henry) wind up sharing the house. Fascinated by these independent older women, Jeanne is delighted, but Albert feels a little threatened.

When Albert suffers an accident of his own making (a hint of things to come), Jeanne develops a crush on handsome local heartthrob Johan (Bjorn Gustaffson, also a fine singer). Meanwhile, Annika runs into an old flame and Christine takes a chance on Albert.

Clever multilingual screenplay by Novion, Beatrice Colombier and Mathieu Robin pokes gentle fun at problems of communication, in particular with a pair of scenes highlighting impractical phrases beginning language students are taught.

Acting powerhouse Darroussin makes palpable a protective father's feelings for his child and an immature man's vainglory, while radiant newcomer Demoustier achingly depicts a dutiful daughter who's ready to accept the challenge of being her own person. Henry and Swedish star Boysen (who learned her lines phonetically) are bewitching in supporting perfs that prove that being adult doesn't necessarily make one wiser about love. Presence of Gustafsson, now a successful comedian, could be a Swedish sales point.

Lyrical lensing by Pierre Novion (helmer's father) exploits late summer magic hours of almost perfect light to capture the beauty of the island of Orust. Other tech credits are pro.

Camera (color), Pierre Novion; editor, Anne Souriau; music, Pascal Bideau; production designer, Gert Wibe; sound (Dolby Digital), Benjamin Rosier, Boris Chapelle, Christophe Vingtrinier. Reviewed at the Cannes Film Festival (Critics' Week), May 19, 2008. Running time: 84 MIN.
With Jean-Pierre Darroussin, Anais Demoustier, Judith Henry, Lia Boysen, Jakob Eklund, Bjorn Gustafsson, Anastasious Soulis.
(French, Swedish, English dialogue)