Alex (Romain Duris) has his work cut out for him trying to woo Juliette (Vanessa Paradis) in HEARTBREAKER
HEARTBREAKER (L’ARNACOEUR) (Pascal Chaumeil, 2010)
IFC Center, 323 Sixth Ave. at Third St., 212-924-7771
Lincoln Plaza Cinema, 1886 Broadway at 63rd St., 212-757-2280
Opens Friday, September 10
www.ifcfilms.com
A big hit in France, Pascal Chaumeil’s debut film, HEARTBREAKER, is a ridiculously mundane romantic comedy that is neither very romantic nor much of a comedy. Romain Duris stars as Alex, a sensitive stud who earns a meager living by breaking up couples in which he has determined that the woman does not realize that she is not truly in love with her partner. Working with his sister (Julie Ferrier) and brother-in-law (François Damiens) as a kind of Impossible Mission force, he charms the women just enough so they see their unhappiness, then he walks away, claiming that he is unable to fall in love again and telling them to begin anew. In debt to a local mobster, Alex decides to take a job breaking up an impending Monte Carlo marriage between Juliette (Vanessa Paradis) and Jonathan (Andrew Lincoln) even though he believes the couple is truly in love. Going against his code, he tries to woo Juliette, but she is his toughest case yet, especially when he starts falling for her. Chaumeil previously directed sitcoms, advertisements, and series television in France, and it shows; HEARTBREAKER plays more like a TV program than a feature-length film. The plot is paper thin, the subplots just plain silly, and the humor sophomoric. The film attempts to redeem itself in the end, but it is far too late to save it from drowning in an absurd lack of originality.