Louis Garrel tells his story in a funny family robbery where Noémie Merlant wins the day

It had received the honor of being screened out of competition during the anniversary evening of the 75th Cannes Film Festival last May: The Innocentthe latest film by Louis Garrel, will be released on Wednesday October 12 with the aim of entertaining the public as much as it had been able to seduce the Croisette.

In this comedy playing the codes of heist films, Abel (Louis Garrel) is a young man whose mother marries a certain Michel who is released from prison (Roschdy Zem). Very worried for her, he takes his best friend (Noémie Merlant) on board to try to protect her from Michel, who very quickly falls back into rather shady schemes. Abel unwittingly finds himself in the middle of a risky business in which the four characters risk a lot.

“I wanted to make a film that would have fun with the detective genre, light and funny to watch”explained Louis Garrel, who will soon be found in Flight and The Almond Trees. Mission accomplished for the 38-year-old director who here reconciles the codes of comedy and thriller suspense. Nothing revolutionary in the plot: we explore the themes of recidivism and remarriage, against a backdrop of romance and family reconciliation.

In this film shot in the Lyon region, Roschdy Zem, mischievous and incorrigible rogue, plays the role of Anouk Grimberg, whose role of Sylvie is directly inspired by Brigitte Sy. The filmmaker and mother of Louis Garrel had already staged her story in 2010 in Hands Freea romantic encounter between a director and a prisoner.

But the real joy of the film is called Noémie Merlant. The 33-year-old actress, who had so far rather distinguished herself in dramatic roles (Portrait of the young girl on fire, Les Olympiades…) takes all the light here by revealing an irresistible comic potential. “In life, I don’t think I’m a very funny person, she admitted during the presentation of the film. When we throw out a joke, I’m always afraid that we’ll misunderstand it, that we’ll flop. But Louis has a way of putting actors at ease and that’s essential in comedy.”

Ingenious in staging, Louis Garrel has fun behind and in front of the camera and confirms in his fourth director’s film his ability to make others shine, through a comedy that is both touching and refreshing.

Gender : comedy
Director: Louis Garrel
Actors: Roschdy Zem, Louis Garrel, Anouk Grinberg
Country : France
Duration : 1h40
Exit : October 12, 2022
Distributer : Ad Vitam

Summary: When Abel learns that his mother Sylvie, in her sixties, is about to marry a man in prison, he panics. Supported by Clémence, his best friend, he will do everything to try to protect her. But the meeting with Michel, his new father-in-law, could well offer Abel new perspectives.