Listings for Friday, May 16, through Thursday, May 22, 2008

Priceless

Capsule by J.R. Jones

From the Chicago Reader

A relentless gold digger (Audrey Tautou of Amelie) mistakes a hapless hotel barman (Gad Elmaleh of The Valet) for a swell, and by the time she realizes her error, he's hooked. Bankrupted by her demands, he eventually becomes a gold digger himself, mooching off a wealthy middle-aged woman, and the young lovers' exploitative relationship warms into conspiratorial intimacy as they compare notes. Like Billy Wilder's The Apartment, this cynical 2006 French farce by Pierre Salvadori (Apres Vous) traces a romance that's both fostered and constrained by the lovers' moral compromises. The outcome is never much in doubt, but Salvadori artfully choreographs the endless table turning, and the Moroccan-born Elmaleh capitalizes on his striking resemblance to Buster Keaton with a similarly comic composure. In French with subtitles. PG-13, 104 min.

This movie is currently playing at: Highland Park | Pipers Alley

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