Priceless [M] - French

Irene is an old-fashioned gold-digger, living her indulgent life by seducing rich older gentlemen in return for dresses, expensive dinners, trinkets, and baubles. One night she mistakes a shy barman, Jean, for one of her usual prey and, upon discovering his abhorring lowly status, dumps him and flees to the Riviera. Jean besotted by her beauty and charm follows her hopefully and so Irene proceeds to viciously bleed him white before unceremoniously dumping him again. But when a rich woman adopts Jean as her plaything, Irene becomes intrigued and begins to mentor him in her line of work. 

This is a beautiful little movie, one of the most heart warming, stylish, and witty romantic comedies that I’ve seen in a while. It’s a most delicious Crème Brule of glamour, romance, and biting wit and I absolutely adore it. 

Irene is an old-fashioned gold-digger, living her indulgent life by seducing rich older gentlemen in return for dresses, expensive dinners, trinkets, and baubles. One night she mistakes a shy barman, Jean, for one of her usual prey and, upon discovering his abhorring lowly status, dumps him and flees to the Riviera. Jean besotted by her beauty and charm follows her hopefully and so Irene proceeds to viciously bleed him white before unceremoniously dumping him again. But when a rich woman adopts Jean as her plaything, Irene becomes intrigued and begins to mentor him in her line of work. 

The story is one that is simple and evolves naturally, leaving itself open to all sorts of comic interpretation along the way. We begin with the case of comedic mistaken identity, which then rapidly turns into and “aw”-inspiring tale disenfranchisement and schadenfreude, soon to then be saved from drowning by the story of friends becoming eventual lovers. 

Although we always have some idea as to where the story is headed, Priceless keeps your eyes glued to the screen for a number of reasons. First, it is a most visually dazzling film as it dishes up nothing but the finest for its audience. Throughout the entire movie we are treated to the finest and most glamorously stereotypical delights of France: the fashions, the food, the restaurants, and the scenery is just breathtaking. I have only spent 3 days in France (which mainly consisted of getting continuously lost), but after watching this movie….ah take me back! 

Second, we have two beautiful romantic leads in Audrey Tautou and Gad Elmaleh. Audrey delivers an irresistibly charming and stylish performance that’s both funny and dramatic and Gad plays the role of the protagonist with adorable sincerity, witty charm, and an irresistible puppy face. 

Starring Marie-Christine Adam, Vernon Dobtcheff, Jaques Spiesser, and Annelise Hesme, Priceless is an irresistibly charming film filled with glamour, comedy, drama, romance, and everything beautiful. It’s an absolute glittering gem of a romantic comedy and a film that I simply adore!