A horticulturist specializing in the production of roses, Ève has seen better days. Once a flagship in the field, the company inherited from his late father is now only a shadow of what it was. Unless she creates a new variety of rose that would allow her to win a prestigious competition, Ève will soon be forced into bankruptcy. Worse: she might have to sell to a wealthy, unethical competitor. It was then that his dedicated assistant had the idea of subscribing to a reintegration program thanks to which three employees arrived as reinforcements. Of the lot, Fred demonstrates unsuspected skills. Comedy with inclinations feel good, The fine flower first of all for the presence of the always marvelous Catherine Frot.
From the outset, Pierre Pinaud’s film (Tell me about yourself) is somewhat reminiscent of Greenfingers (English gardening2000), in which the equally wonderful Helen Mirren played the famous horticulturist taking under her wing apprentice gardeners prisoners, including one full of potential (Clive Owen).
However, where his predecessor favored the point of view of the prisoner prodigy, The fine flower espouses more that of Eve. We thus gradually discover the origins and the depth of her passion for roses, we share her legitimate anguish at the prospect of losing the family business, which she perceives as a huge personal failure…
All of this provides Catherine Frot with beautiful dramatic material that the star knows how to put to good use. Unrivaled for infusing irresistible whimsical notes into his compositions (A family resemblance, The dilettante and My little finger told me), the actress is equally at home in drama (Angel’s Footprint, midwife, Daisy). Here, she happily combines the two without losing sight of the light nature of the film.
A film which, if it seduces the eye thanks to the evocative cinematography of Guillaume Desfontaines (Camille Claudel 1915 and My otterby Bruno Dumont), turns out to be quite uneven on the plot side.
Ill-advised parenthesis
Indeed, if we appreciate the professional aspects (in the greenhouses and in the fields) and personal (in the decrepit mansion which serves as much of an office as a refuge for Eve), we are not at all convinced by a criminal parenthesis.
We are referring here to this ill-advised and highly improbable sub-plot, in the middle, which sees Fred (Melan Omerta) and his colleagues (Marie Petiot, Fatsah Bouyahmed) plan and execute a Hollywood heist at the villainous competitor of their owner (Vincent Dedienne).
Besides that we do not believe it for a single moment, this segment swears with the approach, elsewhere altogether realistic. In fact, as soon as we stray too long from Catherine Frot and her character, the film suffers. Because, basically, the real flower of the title is her.