EVERYBODY LOVES JEANNE/ TOUT LE MONDE AIME JEANNE

France, 2022, 95 minutes, Colour.

Blanch Gardin, Laurent Lafitte, Maxence Tual, Nuno Lopes, Marthe Keller.

Directed by Celine Devaux.

Except herself…

The main characters in this lightly serious study of characters who are in their 40s, 20 years of experience of adult life, joys, disappointments, achievements, failure.

We are introduced to Jeanne, an ambiguously sympathetic performance from Blanche Gardin, a high achiever with a scientific project for capturing plastic in the ocean, some details of the machine and how it might work. But, then disaster, the machine collapsing into the ocean, Jeanne desperately diving in to save it, captured on photo and video, continually reproduced indicating her desperation in the failure.

Which means then that Jeanne is fairly morose throughout the film, touching on depression, walking lonely, in sombre black, avoiding relationships. And then there is the revelation as she meets her sympathetic brother, Simon, to discuss her financial situation, near bankruptcy. Their mother had left them a note, had committed suicide, a cold mother. And, it would seem, the only way to survive financially is to sell the apartment in Lisbon where she lived and they had grown up.

In case this sounds too sombre, it is important to mention the very important device that the writer-director, Celine Devaux with her first feature film, relies on throughout the narrative. She and her associates have drawn animation interludes. In fact, these interludes are from Jeanne’s interior life and voice, often contradicting her exterior and her behaviour, humorously drawn and with Jeanne’s interior voice). There is an animated character for Jeanne, black-and-white, long hair like a life-sized mop, but almost anonymous in look, but with a great deal to say, voicing the real Jeanne. And, at times, there is ground animation in different designs to arrest our attention.

This animation certainly makes the film different, gives it a life and vitality, but also gives it a truer psychological perspective, a truer moral perspective.

Off Jeanne goes to Lisbon sell the apartment, encountering a bright and breezy Jean (Laurent Lafitte) at the airport, students at school in the past, her not remembering. Needless to say, he is more than persistent, making contact in Lisbon, visiting the apartment, pretending to be her husband for a prospective buyer, outings with his niece and Jeanne to the beach – and a very strong scene, with some pathos, where he discusses his mental health, committed to an institution for some months, the aftermath.

Also in the picture is Vitor, with whom Jeanne had a relationship in the past. Again a bright and breezy character, choir teacher, with Jeanne’s niece in his class – and their all going to enjoy a school concert.

There are a lot of quirky episodes with little explanation, miniatures, so to speak, illustrating characters – Jean and his niece suddenly stealing a motor bike and riding off, Jeanne with Simon and his son packing up and going on a spree of smashing plates…

So, a lot of people do love Jeanne in their way, that interior Jeanne sometimes responding, but will she overcome her despondency and believe this?