Three times nothing, it’s a fairy tale and it’s not quite one. Shot in the simplest Paris, flush with the daisies — the street, without postcard images, without the Eiffel Tower, in itself a bias — this comedy tells of the incredible luck that smiles on three homeless people ). Isn’t winning the lottery the most realistic dream one can aspire to in such a situation?
Three times nothing is really a story: the pitfalls are multiple, but, thanks to the 200,000 euros that “the lottery” brings them, the three heroes end up reaching their little eldorado. The ending is happy, like at Disney.
Behind this marvelous adventure, the second feature film by Nadège Loiseau (The little tenant) includes a commentary on a society that is not very helpful, insolent towards the most deprived. When our only hope lies in chance, something is wrong.
The director and co-screenwriter signs a social chronicle paved with good intentions. Devoid of misery, his gaze makes these homeless people united and full of life, more likely to laugh than to complain about their fate. Their names — Brindille (Antoine Bertrand), Cap (Philippe Rebbot), La Flèche (Côme Levin) — say a lot about the approach adopted.
The combination of harsh reality with a soft, not to say honeyed tone, does not hold up well. That such happiness (drawing the winning numbers) can heal so many misfortunes at this point, we do not believe it. The director clearly shows the flaws of a system which, in order to pay out a prize, requires the impossible from the homeless, namely an identity card, an address, a bank account, etc. However, she prefers to make a caricature of it (sent after an accelerated editing) and bet on the path proposed by a benevolent fairy, whom the three friends meet at the lotto society. Go for this choice; there are those who will appreciate it.
What to think of Antoine Bertrand, worthy representative of Quebec on French screens? The one who combines the roles in France (a fifth film, I love what you do, by Philippe Guillard, is expected this summer) displays great confidence, capable of playing anything, including anger. He does it most naturally, in his language and with his Quebecois accent, stringing on the coronations as during the long enumeration of which each of us is capable.
We must salute the audacity of Nadège Loiseau to entrust her with the pivotal character by filming it in this way. Never has Quebec sounded so true… Yet it is this same decision that plagues his work. This speech, so rare in French cinema, rings false, tacky. That Cap, Brindille’s companion for seven years, is no longer offended, okay. That La Flèche, their new friend, reacts so little, or late, is perhaps due to the carelessness attributed to him. But still…
The friendship and tenderness that emerge from the trio punctuate the story with strong but too isolated moments. We often cut corners, as if a clean-shaven face was enough for the transformation to take place.