– Jean-Baptiste Leonetti directs a family comedy that gets off to a zany start before taking a more serious turn
Pierre Lottin and Sandrine Kiberlain in Whatever It Takes
French filmmaker Jean-Baptiste Leonetti presented the Belgian premiere of his new feature film, Whatever It Takes, starring Sandrine Kiberlain and Pierre Lottin, at the Love International Film Festival de Mons. Leonetti made a name for himself in 2011 with his debut feature, Carré Blanc [+see also:
trailer
film profile], a dark, satirical sci-fi thriller. He returns with a comedy that, at first glance, seems delightfully zany, but gradually moves into more dramatic cinematic territory, offering its performers a thrilling playground.
“We’re not poor, we’re broke!” protests Rose (Sandrine Kiberlain). From the very first scene of the film, she comes across as a sort of housewife superhero, navigating the aisles of a supermarket with a shopping trolley packed to the brim, and more than a few tricks up her sleeve to avoid going through the checkout. Caught by security, she is in turn saved by a stranger, who dashes off without asking for anything in return. Except that she can’t bring herself not to at least thank him. So Rose follows Jean (Pierre Lottin), and discovers that he lives alone, in a van that isn’t exactly hygienic. It turns out that Rose lives with her three children in a large disused hotel. It isn’t particularly comfortable, but there’s plenty of space. Not to mention that there’s room in their lives too. To stay together, they need an accomplice to act as a stand-in father to the authorities who are threatening to take the children into care. Whilst Jean is secretive and taciturn, Rose is talkative and cheerful. Water and fire. Witnesses to this alliance of opposites that gradually takes a strange turn, the children are trying to find their feet. Simon (Alexis Rosenstiehl), the eldest, who takes his role as the man of the house very seriously, struggles to fight his protective instincts; Tess (Louise Labeque), the second-eldest, who dreams of becoming a fashion designer, observes with insight these two solitary figures as they grow closer. As for Emily (Alma Ngoc), the youngest, she wonders what all these adults and almost-adults are hiding from her. Because Rose’s search for a “fake” father isn’t as innocent as it seems.
Whatever It Takes begins as a comedy of opposites, tinged with a comedy of impersonation, where the dialogue hits the mark. But the laughter arises from the ashes of a financial precariousness that is damaging to both Rose and Jean, and which may conceal another, deeper form of precariousness. As the situation loses its apparent light-heartedness, the children unwittingly become the referees of a game whose rules have never been explained to them. Whilst this dramatisation takes a slightly heavy-handed turn, the young actors’ performances rise to the challenge of this shift in narrative stakes. Alexis Rosenstiehl embodies the fierce fragility of adolescence with rare authenticity; Louise Labècque is as deeply empathetic as she is magnetic; and the young Alma Ngoc holds her own against them.
Whatever It Takes was produced by Les Films du 24 and co-produced by France 2 Cinéma. International sales are handled by SND. UGC will release the film in French theatres on 25 March and Athena Films will release it on 1 April in Belgium.
(Translated from French)
