Irene: "That was the end of our lesson about the mysteries of womanhood."By Pierre Salvadori
With Audrey Tautou, Gad Elmaleh, Marie-Christine Adam
I think Priceless does something special in that it invites a closer look at the concept of a "gold digger", and lends a story to the what others can construe as a fabulous body with no brains. In the film, Irene is an unapologetic young "gold digger" (as much as I hate to use this terminology) who happens to be spending the night of her birthday in a five-star hotel, accompanied by her grey-haired lover. He seems to be a little too fond of the drink and passes out on their bed. Bored, Irene goes downstairs only to mistake the gentle barkeep, Jean, with a fellow hotel guest. Sparks ensure and many cocktails later, Jean and Irene tangle up some sheets. Unfortunately for Irene, she is caught by her lover who unceremoniously breaks off his engagement with her. Jean steps in, quitting his job at the hotel to cater to Irene's every whimsy.
Soon he finds himself falling in love with Irene, and maxes out his credit cards and empties his bank account shopping for her and catering to her lavish lifestyle. Eventually he cannot keep it up and then in a bizarre set of circumstances, finds himself as a rich widower's young "boy toy". Thus begins Irene and Jean's rather strange courtship, with Irene teaching Jean tricks of the trade--which include some rather hackneyed seduction techniques--conducted in a string of upper crust hotels and shops each of them frequent.
I enjoyed the film. I thought it was extremely refreshing to see such a playful relationship develop, and develop in such quirky circumstances. Obviously while not the most realistic, it was touching to see how even the most callous "gold digger" isn't immune to someone's humble devotion towards her. It was good as well to see how the film exposes the dual nature of a "gold digger" "sugar daddy" relationship as the "sugar daddy" is often quite aware that he is paying for physical intimacy but it perfectly alright with it. Nevertheless society never quite sneers at a "sugar daddy" for that but rather scorns the other party. This film was partial to me, it seems, where the dynamics between the two are far more playful and resonant.
While Jean played the part of a love struck young boy quite devotedly, it was Irene's character which shone for me. Her confidence and meticulous orchestrations to get the attentions of a rich man look somehow innocent and childish when you see that all she does is buy beautiful things with it, things which fill her with a sense of luster in life. One scene where she has sex with her current "lover" (also an aged man) just to get him to fall asleep was played rather brilliantly I think, as the viewer could witness a certain maternal aspect to her personality. It seemed to me that she felt she was doing the men a favor in a sense, giving them warmth and her joy at buying whatever pretty thing she wanted, because it made them feel powerful and happy too.
Instead of this being a story about love or even the "price" one can put on love, I think it was more about deflating lies and being honest with oneself. It wasn't that she didn't enjoy that life (she enjoyed it quite thoroughly) but what she missed was genuine conversation, not a set of phrases she uses on every man to get them to fall for her. This time, she pays the "price" of giving up all the material luxuries of life so that she can buy, essentially, her own happiness.
Was the film a little preachy? Yes. At times the little bit where Jean constantly forgets he isn't a concierge anymore and slips into being a concierge whenever he isn't thinking is over the top and gets stale quickly. Nevertheless, maybe it was simply to put emphasis on the fact that it's important that by the end he is able to stop conceiving of himself as either solely a concierge or a boy toy but someone who transcends these labels somehow.
I liked: Humorous plot, some genuinely hilarious moments. The wonderful Audrey Tautou.
I disliked: Some cliched scenes, and stereotypical stock characters.
65/100
An enjoyable film to see with many funny moments. Always engaging, and shows a refreshing perspective on a a rather under-discussed phenomenon.
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