The Innocent

Few caper comedies have this much heart, and few romantic dramas offer such an appealingly nutty plot.

A humanistic story wrapped in a fun, punchy exterior, much like the French synth-pop music throughout its soundtrack.

“The Innocent” is quirky, touching, and well-played fun.

In The Innocent, perhaps the real McCoy isn’t radical honesty but a performance of the same.

The Innocent is the first movie of Cannes 2022 to give me that belly aching, knee slapping laughter that I desperately needed.

Even when the movie goes a bit over-the-top and gets erratic at times, it’s counter-balanced by what Garrel does with his cast to keep the viewer on board.

The Innocent, certainly packing a lot at only 98 minutes, is the kind of film one can imagine being pushed to vintage Desplechin maximalism, with every tonal shift, piece of character backstory, and formal trick emphasized even further.

An amusing, witty and breezy farce. Noémie Merlant is delightful and hilarious.

Garrel here delivers a witty and elegantly constructed film that joyfully draws parallels between acting and lying, being and pretending, while remaining breezy, fun, eminently accessible and even welcoming.