True Bromance

Untouchable (Intouchables)

Dir: Olivier Nakache and Eric Toledano

Stars: Omar Sy, François Cluzet, Anne Le Ny

After becoming the second most successful French film of all time within the first nine weeks of its domestic run, dividing audiences and critics along the way, I was desperate to see the first and only screening of Untouchable in Manchester this week – at the city’s crappest multiplex. The schmaltzy publicity surrounding the movie set my expectations as low as the quality of the cinema’s seats, but I was pleasantly surprised by Untouchable’s charismatic performances and thoroughly unpretentious charm.

The story follows the development of a friendship between two men: Phillipe, an aristocratic quadriplegic with a diminished appetite for life; and Driss, a young man with buckets of charisma and low ambitions. After Phillipe’s interview process for a new carer only attracts pitying and money-orientated applicants, he is immediately attracted to Driss - whose frankness and lack of judgement seals him the job. We then follow the friendship that develops between the two. One rich, white, “cultured” and with a dying libido; the other poor, black, young and audacious.

Although the premise sounds unoriginal, and may remind you of predictable Hollywood fare such as The Bucket List and The Blind Side, the movie itself is an absolute joy. Never overly exploiting the emotional strings that could readily be pulled, it is a witty and uncondescending comedy drama that had the audience smiling the whole way through. Omar Sy’s performance in particular exhibits the same clinical comic timing and infectious charisma that has served Roberto Benigni and Jean Dujardin so well with English-speaking audiences in recent years. The superb editing and diverse soundtrack also prevent the film from ever being a labour to watch – and allow it to switch between heartwarming and heartbreaking with terrific subtlety.

Not unlike last year’s The Artist, it seems that again France may provide us with the year’s most charming, uplifting and feel-good movie. Untouchable will undoubtedly annoy some due to its seemingly clichéd premise and flawed publicity campaign, but don’t let this misrepresentation deter you. Leave cynicism behind, and enjoy the film for what it is – an absolute treat.

9 / 10