July 2002
Read my Lips : (Sur Mes Levres)
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July 2002
Read my Lips : (Sur Mes Levres) | ||
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Reviewed by Wilson Morales
Where does one go when they want to see films that have some substance? Most of the films released by major studios don’t carry a lot of weight. It’s the star, the genre, or a sequel that brings a mass audience to the theaters. The stories are completely forgotten. Well, thank god for independent and foreign films. They are the bearers of substance, even if some of the stories are always well constructed; there’s always some meat to the story. In the French film READ MY LIPS; it’s the story that carries the films. Both actors are appealing and the writing is original to say the least. Nominated for nine Cesars (the equivalent of an Oscar), this film is thrilling and romantic that should please an audience looking for a good film without checking their brain at the door. Carla (Devos) is an hearing impaired single woman working as a secretary
in a real estate What’s enchanting in this film is the suspense it draws on different levels. Will Carla tell Paul how she feels? Does Paul feel the same? Will he find a way out of his money troubles? Both actors do a good with their expressions. When Carla takes off her hearing aid, the film goes mute. Cassel is exciting as the ex-con trying to survive in the world again. The writing to the cinematography are aces all around. Everything is unpredictable, which is great because it increase our level of interest. “Read My Lips” is a film that works because of the characters. Director Audiard has written a great screenplay that’s compelling and thought-provoking. | ||||||||||||||||||||
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firm/ development property firm. She goes alone home alone and occasionally
hangs out with her girlfriends. When the workload gets to be too much
for her, she asks for an assistant. She makes up the qualifications like
a personal ad. What she gets is a 25 years ex-con named Paul (Cassel).
She’s immediately attracted to him but keeps her feelings to herself.
Paul is frustrated at doing copies all day long and consistently reporting
to his parole officer. When an old acquaintance shows up at the jobs and
beats Paul up, Paul confesses to Carla that he owes someone a lot of money.
Sensing her attraction to him and her ability to lip-read, Paul convinces
Carla to join him in a scheme off getting some money. Carla sense the
danger involve but goes along because she wants to be closer to Paul.