A biopic of a very talented French singer, songwriter, actor and director Serge Gainsbourg comes to the screen in all its glory in the film Gainsbourg: A Heroic Life. Set in a time where film stars and the well to do hob knobbed with upcoming artists, the movie is a cornucopia of oddball personalities, wicked interludes and imaginative cultural music.
Director Joann Sfar begins his film with the young Lucien (Later changed to Serge) a strong willed young man who fancies art, especially drawing naked women with whom he is enamored. It’s a time in France when the Nazis are in control and being Jewish Lucien’s family must keep on their toes to avoid being singled out as protesters. When the yellow Star of David gets introduced, Serg is the first one in line to get one sewed on his jacket. Proud and rebellious, he starts to write songs about the defiant times and romance.
The film takes a giant step forward and we find Lucian now Serg living the life of a the illustrious singer/songwriter writing jazz in the early 60’s moving into funk, rock and reggae in the 70’s and contemporary in the 80’s. During all this time he gets married and divorced, runs with movie stars like Bridget Bardot, Julliet Greco and Jane Birkin.
The period piece covering 5 decades shows the changes that went on in Europe, the strong will of Serge and a society that didn’t really give a hoot except for love and music. Joann Sfar captures the moments through Gainsbourg as he moves through life living it at it’s fullest and making a mark in musical history. He does a terrific job of turning Eric Elmosnino into the prolific icon who challenges the music of the times continuously protesting with his lyrics and catchy tunes.
As Bardot however, Laetitia Casta steals the show depicting the star as this sweet innocent to Gainbourg until he masters her charms with some of his own. The chemistry between Casta and Elmosnino gets hot and steamy in a very prurient scene that lingers all too long after Sfar moves to another scene.
The film’s downside comes with the length of the story bursting at its seams. Sfar goes way too much into the depth of this biopic and tires his audience. I felt that there should have been an intermission between the youngster Lucien (played by Kacey Mottet-Klein) and the accomplished Serg (played by Elmosnino) just to rest my mind between the two brilliant performances. I won’t say the film is boring at all, but I will say overly aggressive.
The film is unrated but it does contain nudity, sexual elements, language and some violence.
FINAL ANALYSIS: A good film that would have been better shorter. (C+)
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
