The Intouchables

Rating: 8/10 (3 June 2012)

Recently I have been caught in the web of Marilyn fever, after MY WEEK WITH MARILYN (2011) and the season finale of SMASH (even Uma Thurman could pull off a slender doppelgänger Marilyn), I decide watch this musical/burlesque to quench my thirst and hope to know more about her, the mysterious actress whose shallowness is rather not compatible with our requirement of an eternal icon (after her two more prominent flicks, SOME LIKE IT HOT 1959 and THE SEVEN YEAR ITCH 1957).
The film pairs a soft kitten Marilyn with a pointed Jane Russell, to counterpart not only the hair color, also conceive two precious opposite temperaments between them, and they're indeed BFFs to each other (at least in the film they claim to be). In this Howard Hawk's vaudeville, with the help of Russell, the showgirl comfort zone is the haven for Monroe to perform right on her own track and never mitigates its plain entertaining function, given that one could forget about the tacky script (one unexplained plot hole, how the detective fathom the whereabouts of the tiara?).
The film has been officially crowned as the most successful film in French domestic market (French's much appreciated axiom preferring attendance over grosses), overthrew the 14-year reign of TITANIC (1997). An astonishing victory diametrically wins over the overpowering Hollywood tyranny which prevails in the world elsewhere.
Unlike another sensational but more provincial box-office mammoth victor WELCOME TO THE LAND OF SHTIS (2008), THE INTOUCHABLES nudges a more international vantage point, which may suggest a more wide acceptance than the former's parochial stature. We are living in an imperfect world where people are classified as different classes by money, power and social status, the gaps are the invisible barriers deter the evolution of a more equalized and stable society, the film may not possess the magic spell to solve this conundrum, but it has its heartfelt innovation to allow any individual to witness a sincere friendship ignited between a pair with the least possibility.
Due to the language hurdle, there are plenty inside jokes which is difficult to comprehend for an outsider, but François Cluzet and Omar Sy are both equally recommendable, although Sy has an edge over since he dominates the most joyful parts and steadfastly handles the more poignant segment as well.
Directors-writers Olivier Nakache and Eric Toledano show no rookie mistakes, and sufficiently exercise this true story to distill until its most theatrical fodder being left (although some antics are overdone, the lesbian deployment? There is no need to add gay element in every film), and embroider it with a slickly potent cast which reflects a concise judgment towards the kennel - we should treat each other unbiasedly as a human being, without any prejudice of differentiation of any sort.
Ludovico Einaudi's piano score plays a significant role in the film as well, providing this enthralling journey with a passionate catharsis!
PS: The film and Omar Sy both end in my top 10 list of 2011!