Film review: ‘BEATING HEARTS’ by Nick Gardener from ‘Built For Speed’
Beating Hearts sounds like the name of a self-important album from the 80’s and the vibrant but overlong and clichéd French romantic crime drama Beating Hearts (or L’amour Ouf) feels like the movie equivalent of such an album.
The film traces the 12-year romance of delinquent thug Clothaire (played by François Civil as an adult and Malik Frikah as a teenager) and the smart, feisty Jackie (played by Adèle Exarchopoulos as an adult and Mallory Wanecque as a teen) who meet when they’re about 16. While Clothaire spends his time engaged in petty crime and street brawls, Jackie is committed to study. Despite Jackie’s attempt to draw him away from a life of crime, Clothaire is lured into the gangster world. When he takes the rap for a murder during a heist gone wrong, he faces a 10-year prison stint and the prospect of losing Jackie.
This film bears more than a passing resemblance to a slew of familiar crime dramas, there’s the young hood being lured into the criminal life ala Goodfellas and A Bronx Tale and the embittered, menacing ex-con looking for revenge just like Chopper; there’s even a “no cash here” scene.
The biggest problem with this film, though, is that it’s very hard to sympathise with the adult versions of both the ferociously violent Clothaire and the prickly Jackie. Consequently, they’re not the tragically romantic star-crossed lovers they were presumably meant to be. Francois Civil looks like a convincing street hood here rather than an actor playing tough but he’s also supposed to be a romantic lead and this doesn’t fit with his sullen scowling face and intimidating manner. Mallory Wanecque delivers the film’s best performance as the confident younger Jackie but Adele Exarchopoulos, who looks nothing like Wanecque, is less convincing as Jackie 12 years on.
Director Gilles Lellouche has, however, crafted a mostly impressive looking film with sprawling vistas of the industrial world Clothaire inhabits and the sunlit suburbs in which Jackie lives.
Unfortunately, subtlety cops a serious hiding in this film with Lellouche signposting major events and narrative shifts with thuddingly obviously imagery – even at one point showing a beating heart just to remind us that this is supposed to be a romance – and use of music. Admittedly, while the placement of the 80’s tunes is obvious in this film, the track selections are pretty good with hits from The Cure, New Order and Madonna.
For all its flaws Beating Hearts is rarely dull. The story moves with a dizzying energy and has only a few lulls in its 160 minutes. Still, despite its melodrama, it’s hard to feel anything for these characters.
Nick’s rating: **1/2
Genre: Drama/ Action/ Crime/ Romance.
Classification: MA15+.
Director(s): Gilles Lellouche.
Release date: 29th May 2025.
Running time: 160 mins.
Reviewer: Nick Gardener can be heard on “Built For Speed” every Friday night from 8-10pm on 88.3 Southern FM.