| THE GIRL |
 1999 -
France / USADirector: Sande Zeig - Reviewed by Linda
The Girl has gotten buzz (planted by the studio, perhaps?) as being a sexy, hot-girl-action film noir. But, girl, it is all style and no substance! I found myself loitering in the lobby after a mid-film bathroom break, literally reading all the small print on the "now playing" movie posters, trying to find some reason to not go back in to the dark theater. "The Girl" of the film title is The Singer (Claire Keim), a chanteuse in a seedy Parisian jazz lounge. The Painter (Agathe De La Boulaye) is a regular patron who becomes smitten with her, and they begin a torrid affair. Soon the jealously of The Man (the pimpy bar owner) comes in to play, as The Painter has stolen his woman. Will she face danger and fight for her woman? Is her lover worth it? Do we care? On the surface, The Girl looks fine. The cinematography is shadowy and blue, smoky and shimmering. Agathe De La Boulaye has a sexy aura as the mysterious tomboyish Painter. But when you put the film into motion, it becomes clear that De La Boulaye's range consists of smirking glances and slightly furrowed brows. Claire Keim comes off worse as The Singer, as she just seems to be a second rate Mariah Carey, with no personality except her tendency to have frequent tantrums. Why is The Painter rapt with her? Oh, did I forget to mention the crappy script and sluggish pacing that disguises itself as mood? The Girl is tedious and about as much fun as watching paint dry on a canvas, topped off by the fact that it is not even a good painting. |
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After this film, I found myself outside on the sidewalk waiting for a
streetlight to change. I felt this presence, this presence of rage and clenched
bitterness. Before I could turn to see the source of this black cloud, the woman
next to me let out a garbled, "Aaarrgghhh!" of anger that she just
wasn't able to hold inside anymore. I looked over and said, "So, you just
watched The Girl, too?"
