Dir. Louis Garrel, 2022, 99 min
With Louis Garrel, Roschdy Zem, Anouk Grinberg, Noémie Merlant
In French with English subtitles
Part crime thriller, part family farce, Louis Garrel’s The Innocent shows with panache and pathos the dangerous lengths two men go, and the outlandish lies they tell, for the women they love.
Louis Garrel stars as Abel, a museum educator and widower whose mother, Sylvie (Anouk Grinberg), marries Michel (Roschdy Zem), one of her drama pupils in the local penitentiary. Once on parole, Michel attempts to start a legitimate life for Sylvie’s sake but soon reverts to his old ways, with the suspicious Abel continually—and ineptly—spying on his stepfather until roped into one of the ex-con’s schemes. Complicating matters is Clémence (Noémie Merlant), the brazen coworker who convinces Abel to break out of his emotional and romantic shell by taking part in Michel’s planned heist.
The film garnered 11 nominations at the 2022 César Awards, winning Best Supporting Actress for Noémie Merlant and Best Original Screenplay for Louis Garrel, Tanguy Viel, Naïla Guiguet.
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