"A Deadly Kind of 'Love'"
by Scott Mantz

"He Loves Me, He Loves Me Not"
Audrey Tautou, Samuel Le Bihan
Directed by Laetitia Colombani

With a love like that, you know you should be scared! Audrey Tautou has the devil in her heart in "He Loves Me, He Loves Me Not"

Ah, l'amour! Valentine's Day is here, and love is in the air--especially at the movies!

It sucks, doesn't it? Well, it does if you're single, and if you've been praying for an engaging cinematic diversion to counter-balance the arrival of sickly-sweet romantic comedies like "How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days" and "Deliver Us From Eva," then viola! Your prayers have been answered. Not only does the French import "He Loves Me, He Loves Me Not" effectively shoot an arrow right through cupid's beating heart, but it does so by being an incredibly clever, rewarding and absorbing cinematic experience.

Angelique (Audrey Tautou) is a love-struck young artist who sees the world through rose-colored glasses, especially when it comes to her love for Loic (Samuel Le Bihan), a successful cardiologist who, unfortunately for her, just so happens to be married. She feels that Loic will eventually leave his pregnant wife for her, since he appears to be just as smitten with her as she is of him. Or is he? While Angelique is busy preparing for her bright, long future with the man of her dreams, the story as told from Loic's perspective reveals a completely different nightmare.

"Nothing is what it seems " may have been the tagline for the recent Al Pacino-Colin Farrell misfire "The Recruit," but it's much more applicable to the premise found in "He Loves Me, He Loves Me Not." From the outset, moviegoers are duped into thinking that they're in for another dose of "Amelie," 2001's cute, sharp romantic comedy starring adorable French engenue Audrey Tautou. As it is, when we first see the vibrant, gleaming Tautou peering through a bed of roses with her big brown eyes, the movie sure seems like it's headed in that direction. Then it takes an abrupt, dark--and totally unexpected--turn, and suddenly, the girl from "Amelie" isn't so cute anymore.

Without revealing key plot points and the movie's best kept secret, let's just say that Tautou deserves a lot of credit for taking chances with her sweet, charming, captivating image and turning it on its proverbial ear. Comparisons are bound to be made between her performance here and the jilted lover played by Glenn Close in "Fatal Attraction," but "He Loves Me" also borrows elements from "The Crush," "He Said, She Said," and even a little bit of "The Sixth Sense" (how's that for a pitch?).

The story is told in three parts; the first from her point of view, and the second from his point of view. The final third is where the film converges, but pay close attention. Everything that happens in the first 40 minutes--every frame, every action, every reaction, every plot point and every bit of (subtitled) dialogue--has a direct bearing to what happens in the rest of the movie. At first, you get the impression that something isn't quite right, but when the story flashes back to reveal Loic's perspective (in a harrowing display of meltdown and paranoia by Samuel Le Bihan), you can't help but sit up, take notice, and realize that something quite extraordinary is going on.

There are two sides to every story, and in this case, both sides are riveting, especially when the illusion gives way to reality. The illusion here is that moviegoers are in for a cute romantic comedy, but the reality is that writer/director Laetitia Colombani has concocted a dark psychological thriller that will blow your mind and may even require a second viewing. Sure, the film can be far-fetched at times, but regardless, "He Loves Me, He Loves Me Not" is the French equivalent of a guilty pleasure that also qualifies as the first truly exceptional movie of 2003.

To that extent, I guess Valentine's Day isn't so bad after all.

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