LOOK AT ME (COMME UNE IMAGE) — CANNES 2004

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The Duty of the Beholder
French Dramedy Is Exquisite
By Cole Smithey

Lolita Cassard (Marilou Berry) is a talented 20-year-old singer of classical music. She's also the overweight daughter of Etienne Cassard (Jean-Pierre Bacri), a famous author and publisher who wears his outsized ego on his sleeve to overcompensate for his own glaring insecurities. It's from this raw narrative material that writer/director/actress Agnes Jaoui ("The Taste Of Others") weaves an intricately emotional and comic movie about the barriers that people use to protect their fragile personalities.

Lolita desperately wants her father's approval, but he's incapable of seeing past her chubby appearance to the unique individual that she is. Etienne has bought so far into the magazine mentality he professes to scorn that he imposes strict artificial expectations on those around him, especially his loving daughter.

Lolita's singing coach Sylvia Miller (Agnes Jaoui) doesn't think much of her student's talent until she discovers that Lolita's father is the famous Etienne Cassard. Sylvia's husband Pierre (Laurent Grevill) is a struggling novelist whose latest book has caught Etienne's notice. Sylvia proceeds to act as her husband's personal publicist via Lolita. Even Lolita's new journalist boyfriend Sebastien (Keine Bouhiza) has ulterior motives.

The narrative establishes a particular resonance between Lolita and Pierre, as Sylvia inadvertently becomes a cheerleader for Lolita to gain Etienne's esteem. As the characters congregate in the French countryside for a singing recital, we realize things about genuine beauty and maturity that only great stories can reveal.

"Look at Me" is a wholesome work of fully-rounded dramaturgy. It spins on a gyroscope of sustained emotional momentum. Co-written by Agnes Jaoui and Jean-Pierre Bacri, it's a rare movie that energizes its audience with subtlety and truth. The ensemble cast is superb. Newcomer Marilou Berry is a revelation.

Rated PG-13. 110 mins.