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Join Telegram ChannelGrand Corps Malade and Mehdi Idir wallow in all the clichés of an exercise worn to the bone, despite an impeccable Tahar Rahim.
The “Monsieur” placed in front of the famous surname immediately indicates the deference of the two authors towards the singer of Bohemia. We enter this biopic with the undeniable certainty of an illustrated panegyric. The viewer thus finds himself nestled in a chromo validated by a descendant keen to perpetuate the aura of Aznavour among younger generations.
The duo Grand Corps Malade – Mehdi Idir, directors of two very estimable public successes (Patients, School life) was a priori a wise choice to launch this promotional operation. There is no doubt that rights holders and record labels are rubbing their hands and are already preparing the compilations. When it comes to cinema, however, it's a completely different story.
Their camera moves without awareness in the gold of a setting where no trinket protrudes without asking questions about the character in the middle of the frame. A character who, through ridiculous makeup, ends up being swallowed up by the aesthetic wallpaper that serves as a backdrop. Tahar Rahim, good prince, plays the game, tenses his shoulders, spreads his arms, brings soulless dialogues to life and emerges miraculously unscathed from this circus.
If The Kid by Olivier Dahan, whose reference weighs tons, had managed to make Piaf a sort of disjointed and bawling doll, smothered under tons of artifice, our Aznavour without an ounce of psychological asperity appears very dim. Here the supposedly famous people are directly named: “Oh look, there’s Charles Trenet! “, “Hello Mr Hallyday, hello François Truffaut“. Can we turn off the tap on biopic, please?
From Grand Corps Malade and Mehdi Idir. With Tahar Rahim, Bastien Bouillon, Marie-Julie Baup… Duration 2h13. Released October 23, 2024