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Pretty "Devils"

E. A Solinas | MD USA | 08/02/2004

(4 out of 5 stars)

"A year before breaking out as the winsome Amelie, international star Audrey Tautou was one of the "Pretty Devils" in this intriguingly original little flick about young girls embarking on a life of petty crime. It trips over its own feet from time to time, but gives a new twist to revenge stories.

Naughty Lea (Olivia Bonamy) and sly Aurelie (Axelle Ade-Pasdeloup) are a pair of teenage girls with a taste for mayhem, and have reacted to their mother's affair with a policeman by constantly making mischief. On the other hand, Anne-Sophie (Audrey Tautou) is a girl from Versailles, who has let her mother think she is going on a ski vacation. But she's actually going to meet her older lover in a scuzzy part of town -- only to find him with another girl.

Despondent and lost, Anne-Sophie goes to a gym, intending to hang herself -- only to encounter Lea and Aurelie in the middle of scamming a young man. The sisters assist Anne-Sophie in getting revenge on her unfaithful lover, by designing a bunch of revenge pranks on him. But then things go awry, and the girls must reexamine what they are doing.

"Pretty Devils" won't be labelled a classic anytime soon, but it is lifted above the average by Tautou's excellent performance. It's also not a laugh-out-loud comedy, though it may make you chuckle in places; rather it's a wry, slightly strange film with an odd coming-of-age story wrapped inside its angst and wicked mischief.

The primary plot, hidden under the more obvious one, is about three girls trying to heal their emotional scars. It's a sweet plot, if a tad underexplored. And humor is usually provided by the three leads, such as Lea bursting in on a guy with law book in hand, lecturing him on statutory rape. On the other hand, the editing and pacing are somewhat lacking. At times the director seems to be confused and the film slows to a crawl.

Audrey Tautou demonstrates again that she is not just a pretty face, but a rising actress with wonderful skill and abundant star presence. Her role here is far more serious than her best-known one, but if anything she's even better. Bonamie and Ade-Pasdeloup are also good as the mischievous sisters who cover up their hurt by making havoc.

Original if a bit slow, "Pretty Devils" is a bittersweet little story about teenage girls abandoned -- one way or another -- by the people they love. Tautou dazzles, even if the film doesn't quite."

Pretty Good

V. Marshall | North Fork, CA USA | 09/08/2004

(3 out of 5 stars)

"This interesting foreign film is a character study involving three young girls growing up feeling a need to rebel against authority.

Another Audrey Tautou hit...In this film she is still the camera's best friend as a 20ish woman breaking away from her mother and trying to reach her older lover. She encounters a few setbacks and meets two sisters along the way who give her life new thrill. The sisters are played by Olivia Bonamy and Axelle Ade-Pasdeloup who both do fantastic jobs portraying a pair of bored and lonely kids looking for a better way in life. Unfortunately the sisters coerce Tautou into joining their amateur game of stealing wallets from men they entice with the possibility of sexual favors. It seems to be a good game with a lot of vulnerably stupid men falling for promise rather than brains but the game is illegal and only serves to cause the young women more problems.

This French film is not high powered and action packed but it is enticing in its subtle way. Each of the three young women arrives at the little game they develop with a different goal in mind. The youngest (Ade-Pasdeloup) is a straight "A" student and enamored with biology, her older sister (Bonamy) it a bitter calculator who shrewdly distances herself from others and lastly Tautou is the fragile woman on the edge feeling a need for a heart stopping thrill. As the film moves along the driving forces are slowly revealed finally satisfying viewers. It is not Tautou's best but it is pretty good despite the devilish activities.
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A darkly comical "coming-of-age" film

Robert Pratte | charleston, il USA | 12/21/2004

(4 out of 5 stars)

"This is an earlier Audrey Tautou movie (2000), with a feel darker than Amelie, but not as heavy as Pretty Dirty Things. In this film, Tautou (as always) plays an off-center lovable young woman (Anne-Sophie) who finds unique ways of dealing with the difficulties of life. When she travels to Paris to surprise her boyfriend and finds him with another woman, Anne-Sophie decides to end it all in a gymnasium. However, she instead meets two sisters who have another way of dealing with life - petty crime. Despite some rough starts, the three become rather like sisters. The movie perpetually crosses between (and together) comedy and drama, but never seems to leave the scope of the three women and those close to them (the "step-father" cop, the single mom, the boyfriend to revenge). Finally, when the results of the pranks and thievery threaten to overwhelm the women, the detective step-father (to-be) steps in and shows them (and the audience) that he can be trusted. Thus, throughout the petty deceptions of the film, resolution appears in an unexpected spot.

In terms of the quality of the film, it has an "older" feel than I expected - sort of a mid-1980s touch to it. Also, the scenery is grungy and working-class, and, like the seemier side of life that appear but don't overwhelm, makes the funny bits dark and the unsettling bits darker. Yet there is an irreverance too, so that even the unsettling bits have a touch of humor to them.

Overall, I recommend the movie. Particularly if you are an Audrey fan, this film, while not the high of Amelie, has many classic moments."