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| READ MY LIPS (2001) | |
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Read My Lips brings the audience's attention to a young hearing-impaired secretary, Carla (Emmanuelle Devos), who is embarrassed of her handicap, which she hides behind her long unfashionable hair.
Unnoticed by her coworkers Carla finds that they frequently use her desk as a trashcan to discard half-empty paper cups.
The only time the coworkers seem to recognize her is during the lunch hour when they make crude sexual jokes about her, which they keep in between themselves.
However, Carla knows that the coworkers use her for their personal enjoyment as she possess the ability to read lips, which functions as a double edge sword as her knowledge of their thoughts continues to harm her already low self-esteem.
When the anxious, stressed, insecure, and overworked Carla faints in her bosses office he suggests that she hire an aid for herself. Carla contacts a temp agency that sends her Paul (Vincent Cassel) to help her with her daily chores at her job. Paul, an unskilled former convict with no money and very few possessions, gets the job through a number of lies. However, Carla discovers his secret, but instead of turning him in she helps him keep the job. The reason is that Carla desires someone, someone to see her, and this someone happens to be Paul. Feebly Carla attempts to find a way for him to notice her by helping him in various ways, which sends mixed messages, as Paul seems to believe that she is using him for her own needs. The two main characters begin a slow dance where both are extremely cautious not to step on the others toes. It is an emotionally saturated dance where feelings are constrained as if feelings are a sign of weakness. Symbolically the dance between Carla and Paul revolves around her hearing-impairment, as she is incapable of sending the right signals, yet fully capable of reading the signals. The dance draws both characters into a world of greed, deceit, and murder where they must blindly rely on one another. Jacques Audiard's direction brings the audience an intelligent thriller with several intriguing subplots enhanced through the terrific use of sound. The sound is an essential part of the film as Carla struggles with her hearing-impairment. The cast offers the audience a good performance, which enhances the psychosexual tension between the characters. In the end, the audience will have experienced a sublime crime story based on a wonderful script, which will bewilder and drive the audience into contemplation. |
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France |
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| REVIEWED | |
| 11/10/2004 | |
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The Internet Movie Database. |
