Julien Royal’s All-Time High (Nouveaux Riches) turns a clichéd premise into fairly engaging viewing. A confidence trickster by the name of Youssef (who goes by different aliases for the people in his life) is finding the black-market business of designer hand bags quite challenging, of late. He wishes to diversify his con artist practices to make a killing. What he lacks in luck, he makes up for in selling a story, a vision, to the prospective person in front of him. His boundless confidence, his ability to talk nonstop without really saying much, his made-up style and his often-contrived humour are all weapons in his chosen area of trade. Some fall for it, some don’t. That’s just the name of the game. On a frustrating gambling spree playing poker, he gets on the wrong side of the duo (a pair of brothers) running the illegal underground establishment. More and more in debt (with his supposedly authentic Rolex given as collateral), a fight soon breaks out, with Youssef surprising the audience with his ability to fight. Owing the brothers lots of money, he makes a dash for it before suffering grievous injury. During the course of the preceding hours at the poker table, he encounters a boisterous woman making consistent fun of his game. It turns out that even she has scammed the den’s owners. As Youssef’s luck starts to run out, a tell-all confession to his girlfriend ends in disaster. High as a kite at a club, he happens to bump into the same woman on the dance floor.
Director – Julien Royal
Cast – Nassim Lyes, Zoé Marchal, Adrien Essamir “Sicario”, Yousef Ramal, Yovel Lewkowski
Streaming On – Netflix
The humour in All-Time High tries hard throughout, aided by worthy lead performances from Nassim Lyes and Zoé Marchal, but most of it ends up being unnecessarily crass. Nassim Lyes’ comic timing may be great every now and then, but it is the writing that fails to keep up. What does invoke interest in this French romantic comedy film is the chemistry between Youssef and Stephanie. The former finds out about her alleged fortune and convinces himself that he’s in it only for the scam, and the scam alone. Stephanie rattles off about how much she’ll be worth once she sells the crypto and so on, but kicks up a fuss in the supermarket when she can’t afford groceries (making Youssef cover most of her expenses). It is hard to tell who is falling for who, or is it all just one big ruse? They’re an unlikely unit, at best, and that’s what helps the narrative. Youssef’s need to belong in the big leagues is also something the film puts forth well. This contrast of class is witnessed at the home of his wealthy girlfriend, where his overcompensating, flashy manner is ridiculed by her father and brother. His success will signify a collective “sticking it” to such people, and rightly so.
There are a few instances in this mostly goofy film that take you by surprise. The odd back-and-forth between the mafia brothers and their gang is perhaps one of them, a rare example of the humour hitting its mark. For all his smooth scam talk, it is hard to picture Youssef as a fighter, but there you go. Towards the end, a truly heartfelt hospital moment makes for a cruel practical joke. Just when you think it’s getting a bit too predictable, the curveball comes. The film’s subpar comedy is evened out by the more nuanced parts of romantic drama. Faltering here and there, the writing fails to live up to the acting standard on show. The bond between Youssef and Stephanie is the highpoint, undoubtedly. There’s something there between them, we can all feel it. But with two scam artists of the highest calibre, it isn’t so clear as to who’s playing who, and to what end.
With its attempt to keep things slightly away from the norm, All-Time High succeeds in being above average. And for that reason alone, this romantic comedy drama film is worth the watch.
#Great #chemistry #leads #French #romantic #comed #Cinema #express
