Read My Lips

Jacques Audiard's film has been called Hitchcockian, but while it echoes some of the master's recurrent themes and includes a few allusions, it doesn't really generate much suspense--even when someone's life is threatened. Rather, like many another moody Gallic thriller, Read My Lips works best as a character study, a dark tale of two damaged people who--seeking to use one another for their own purposes--gradually develop a grudging intimacy. Near-deaf secretary Carla (Emmanuelle Devos) hires ex-con Paul (Vincent Cassel) as her assistant, protecting him from both her bosses and his parole officer, while also showcasing him as her supposed beau. He, meanwhile, intends to use her ability to read lips to rip off a loan-sharking club owner to whom he's in debt. The picture's noir-ish bleakness and refusal to sentimentalize its “loser” protagonists are oddly refreshing in these days of obligatory happy endings, giving the film considerable punch. Recommended. (F. Swietek)