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Sadly Over-hyped

Let's be realistic.

By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

An old-fashioned movie made with new-fashioned finesse.

This was a very frustrating picture to watch--partially because it seemed as if those who created it didn't consider how difficult it would be for the audience to follow the strange non-linear plot and partially because the characters are so poorly developed. Instead of the normal style of film making, ALICE ET MARTIN is told in a way that hops about from the past to the present again and again and sometimes with no apparent transition. While changing this perspective might have worked, the choppiness in connecting these segments was frustrating and at first I thought the reels had been mixed up in the wrong order! Also, many of the characters seem as if important parts of their development had been unfortunately omitted. For example, Julia Ormond ('Alice') initially dislikes Martin. Then, when they start to have a torrid affair, it almost seemed to come from no where. Then, only a short time later in the film, Martin is falling apart emotionally and treats Alice rather coldly and cruelly. You'd expect a normal person to leave, but then Alice invests her entire being in unfolding the mystery of Martin's life--at great trouble and expense to herself! Plus, how did she get from living in Spain with Martin with not even a Euro in the bank and then a scene later she's in France and no mention is made of how she got there or how much time had elapsed? Often, by the way, scenes jumped as much as a year but it was hard to know this was happening.This choppiness is a real shame, because if the film had been well edited, the characters more fully defined and the story told in a more comprehensible fashion, then it would have been a wonderful film. The basic plot involving the cold father and Martin was brilliant but got lost in the mess that was the film. The bottom line is that all the parts of the film never really worked together and the film should have been significantly better. I would love a remake--one that explores the relationship between the father and son as well as how the rest of the family is really part of the problem because they live in denial about the father--he was an evil and overbearing ogre, not the "great man" they claim he was.

Andre Techine is a director that likes to portray the problems young people are facing, which seems what attracted him to "Alice et Martin", a film that gives us a strange take in how the past catches up with a young man that challenged his father's authority. The screen play is by Olivier Assayas and Gilles Taurand, two men that have had written better things for the cinema.The film's opening sequence is puzzling since we have no clue as to what makes Martin run away from home. This seems to be a disjointed way to make the film work, because even though we might guess what could have happened, when the final truth comes about, we just don't care about it.Then there is the problem of Alice's attraction for Martin. Alice is a woman that seems to know what she wants. She is older than the young guy that comes into her life, and should have been wiser to avoid, at all costs, but she falls for him, anyhow.Basically, what attracted us to the film was Juliette Binoche, an actress that is always interesting to watch. Unfortunately, because our lack of interest in the story, we stop caring about her long before we get to know what really happened. Alexis Loret is a weak choice for Martin. Mathiew Amalric and Carmen Maura fare better in their supporting roles."Alice et Martin" is a slow moving film that will get in the nerves of viewers. Better luck to M. Techine in his next effort.

When we first meet Martin, he's the 12 year old illegitimate son sent to live with his father at the family estate. In the film's second scene, the now 19 year old Martin is fleeing the same estate. Literally. Running blindly into the countryside, we follow as he hides from imagined pursuers, subsisting (barely) on what he can scrounge, completely exposed to the elements. In a few days he's arrested while pilfering from a farmer, but his family bails him out. He doesn't return home, but makes his way to Paris where he asks to live with his older half-brother, Benjamin, and his roommate, Alice, a musician. They reluctantly agree to take him in. Soon, due to luck and his good looks, Martin is a world-class male model earning tons of money. He's also successful at courting the older Alice, which causes conflicts with Benjamin. Not romantic conflict, Benjamin is gay, but professional. Martin is the family bastard, his father's child by his mistress. Benjamin and the other siblings are children by the legal mother. Martin is the outcaste, but now he's a great success, more so than any of the siblings, especially Benjamin.But Martin is harboring a great secret, the reason that caused him to flee, and it's tearing him apart. The family refuses help; they don't air their dirty laundry in public, and they don't like Martin. Martin begins to go mad. Alice, now in deeply love with Martin, begins a quest to unlock Martin's hidden demons and exorcize them.Enough said about the plot, I've spoiled about half the movie. Is this movie any good? It's not bad. The film is French, so, except for Juliette Binoche as Alice, none of the actors are recognizable to this American; but they are all very good. The direction by André Téchiné is also quite good. The story? It's an odd little downer of a story that I suspect doesn't resonate well with the middle classes. But anything with Juliette Binoche in it is worth a rental.

Although the performances were good, this movie is quite frustrating. While a non-linear narrative can be effective and compelling, the disjointed plot or lack of one leaves the viewer bored and confused. The story line is further strained by the lack of development of much of Alice's and Martin's characters. For instance, one can't understand why Martin's father was such a brute or why Alice would choose to stay with Martin. It's a shame because this movie could have been a lot better.