Quatre Etoiles is a spunky little film. Unknown until yesterday, this international delight proved that candy can be served with a main course. It demonstrated the sheer power of a strong female lead, coupled with a realistic romance. This was not you a-typical Hollywood blockbuster. This was not Reece Witherspoon pining for a man who is rough around the edges, only to discover the inner beauty come shooting out in the final seconds of Act III. This is a love story. It is the story of a woman named Franssou who is bored with her life, until she inherits about 50,000 euros and runs to Cannes only to follow, like a disjointed puppy, a man who is the epitome of the two-bit crook (named Stephane). From their first meeting, there is chemistry. As he cheats, lies, and steals his way out of every instance, Franssou continues to fall, head-over-feet, for him. As he hits her, uses her image, and even verbally degrades her, she continues to fight for his intentions. Again, I must stress. This is a romantic comedy - but not like the ones were a spoon fed here in the US.
Christian Vincent's direction was impeccably well for a film whose world exampled several different locates in the French Riviera. The colors and the visuals literally popped from the screen, allowing the "candy" from each scene to settle in its cinematic cavities. Isabelle Carr, the woman controlling Franssou, glided between each scene, within each word, on screen. She felt comfortable with herself, with the material, and with her co-actor that I believed she was the embodiment of this free-spirited woman. Not only could this woman act, but wear a low cut dress for nearly every occasion. This was both positive for the average male watching this film, but for the cinephile trying to decipher character, it just throws you full a big loop. Has cleavage ever been a supporting actor? None the less, our support actors range from Stephane (a man) who owes money to everyone, and can never quite reach out of the rock that is placed upon him. He is the "mouse" to Franssou, a rather abusive one, but still the one. He makes you nervous, never quite trusting him from the beginning, and questioning his every motive. Jose Garcia fills the role well, pulling upon many different cliches to support his character. Not quite as dynamic as Franssou, he does accompany her well. Like Texas toast to steak, he adds the filler between plot points. Finally, there is comic relief with the retired Formula 1 racer trying to fit cars into a small garage.
In essence, that is what this film embodies. Trying to fit too much into a small garage. While I liked the visuals and was pleasantly surprised by the cast, the overall story is where Quatre Etoiles seemed to suffer. We were constantly bombarded with more and more without the slightest sense of development. Who was Franssou? What was the relationship with the woman who left her money? Is this an uncut, pure version of serendipity? Finally, what was subtle (but again, ill developed) was Franssou's reasoning. She follows her heart, but nothing was handed to us to maintain this character digression. She isn't happy with her life early, shopping for matresses makes her feel bland, and when 50,000 euros suddenly become part of the picture, she becomes a mistress of the night. No cares, no inhabitions, no worries about her new found placement, just headfirst into the deep end. It will confuse viewers - at least it did for me. I just wanted something early to demonstrate that she was "needing" this in her life. That she was lacking that excitement only Stephane could bring (which, if you look at it - anyone could have brought that too her - Stephane seemed to be at the right place at the right time). Small details like that turned the French lunacy of this film into chaotic haphazardness. Don't get me wrong, this was good - but it should have been better.
Found in my TCM International Film Guide 2008 edited by Ian Haydn Smith, here is what they had to say about Quatre etoiles:
"Quatre etoiles by Christian Vincent, a Lubitsch-like triangular love story set on the French Riviera"
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