A lot of love stories are best if they are not too long, or drag with a lot of dialogue and never really have an ending that satisfies. A Faithful Man however, does deliver a touching story that brings love into play early on and then wrestles with it until the very satisfying finale. It may be a chick flick, but one men could nicely tolerate.
Abel (Louis Garrel) has been living with the lovely Marianne (Laetitia Casta) for about 3 years in her apartment. Things were going fine until one day she tells him she’s pregnant with Paul, who happens to be his best friend. She wants to marry Paul so she asks Abel to find another apartment prior to the wedding. Lost without her, Able tries to move on and decides to leave Paris and cut all contact with the two.
9 Years go by and one day Able gets the sad news that Paul has died a sudden death. At the funeral he sees Marianne with her son Joseph and to his surprise notices Eve (Lily-Rose Depp), Paul’s younger sister who has grown up. In a weird stroke of fate Marianne and Eve start to vie for Abel’s attention putting him in an awkward position that creates a monumental amount of jealousy.
The film has a lot of ups and downs, but mostly in a good way that promotes some laugher along with the angst to which Able is subjected. I like the way Louis Garrel, who directs and wrote the screenplay handles the very delicate script. With so many romance films available, the twist is so important or you end up walking away from the film empty. But Garrel does not disappoint and makes his film worth watching.
Most of the credit goes to the acting with Louis Garrel portraying his main character. It’s never easy to direct yourself, but Garrel has the handle on Able and does the role justice. Part of it is the chemistry he as with the two women that fight it out for his affection.
Talking about growing up, Johnny Depp’s daughter Lily-Rose Depp has developed into a fine actress. Here she shows the innocence of the sister who lost her brother to an untimely death, and falls for the man she had a crush on as a child. It’s a delicate character being that death is what brings about the union and in this case she has to fight for her chance to win him over.
A Faithful Man has not been rated by the MPAA, but contains language and sex. The film plays out in the French language with English subtitles.
FINAL ANALYSIS: a good chick flick with a tricky ending. (3.5 out of 5 Stars)
Additional Film Information:
Cast: Louis Garrel, Laetitia Casta, Lily-Rose Depp, Joseph Engel,
Directed and co-written by: Louis Garrel
Genre: Romantic Comedy, Drama
MPAA Rating: Not Rated, contains sex, language
Running Time: 1 hr. 15 min.
Opening Date: August 2, 2019
Distributed by: Kino Lorber
Released in: French with English Subtitles
Check Local Listings for a theater near you.
| Landmark Opera Plaza Cinema | San Francisco | CA | September 13 – September 19, 2019 |
| Smith Rafael Film Center | San Rafael | CA | September 13 – September 19, 2019 |
| Landmark Kendall Square Cinema | Boston | MA | September 13 – September 19, 2019 |
| Landmark Ritz at the Bourse | Philadelphia | PA | September 13 – September 19, 2019 |
| Landmark Ken Cinema | San Diego | CA | August 30 – September 5, 2019 |
| Coral Gables Art Cinema | Coral Gables | FL | August 30 – September 5, 2019 |
| Plaza Theatre | Atlanta | GA | August 30 – September 5, 2019 |
| South Bay Film Society | Torrance | CA | August 21, 2019 |
| Malco Ridgeway Cinema Grill | Memphis | TN | August 14, 2019 |
| Laemmle Royal Theatre | Los Angeles | CA | August 2 – August 8, 2019 |
Writer, critic, film editor John Delia, Sr. has been on all sides of the movie business from publications to film making. He has worked as a film critic with ACED Magazine for more than 20 years and other publications for a total of 40 years. He earned a Bachelor’s degree in communications from the University of Florida. John is a member of the Southeastern Film Critics Association and Critics Association of Central Florida Send John a message at jdelia@acedmagazine.com
