Queen of Hearts

Slapstick, Sex, And The Single Woman: This French Trifle Has Moments Of Hilarity, But Little Payoff
Valerie Donzelli's "The Queen of Hearts" is one of those films that you want to love. From the opening moments, as our heroine navigates a number of pitfalls while making her way across the city, the movie seems open to all the possibilities of fantasy and whimsy. Finding true love and human connectivity in the big city are themes common to many a movie, and I was fully on board for another tale of romantic mischief and amore. But while the movie puts on a show of being quite lightweight, there is something far more disturbing underneath. I was willing to embrace this darker element as well, but the movie never seems to acknowledge that Adele (Donzelli herself) has some clinical instability and is in need of serious psychological help. I'm not being flippant, it becomes increasingly hard to think about true love (or anything of meaning) as the character is self-destructing before your eyes.

The movie opens as Donzelli is moving past a bad break-up. Weary of men, she...

Unique spin on the breakup movie
Breakup movies are often very much the same: the main character suffers from a broken heart, can't go over her ex, and we can usually predict how it plays out in the end. The Queen of Hearts is no exception to this stereotype, but that doesn't make it any less enjoyable. This French gem also has a unique take on the genre that winds up making it stand out miles from films toting similar plots.

Adèle (played by director/co-writer Valérie Donzelli) suffered a painful breakup, comically played out in the opening scene. She cries for days, that is until her friend (Lucía Sánchez) gives her some sedatives and leaves her on a park bench. There is also a cute opening sequence showing Adèle in numerous other unfortunate situations which, while maybe seeming a bit pretentious at first, really serves as introducing us to the quirky Adèle.

Things really took an unexpected twist for me when the first song broke out. Not knowing much...

Fresh, Funny, Unpretentious Comedy! highly recommended!
Who said a break-up was sad and painful? Definitely Not Adele!
Queen of hearts is a fresh, light comedy. Unpretentious and entertaining, I really enjoyed Donzelli's sincerity and her complicity with Jeremie Elkaim. Funny and pleasantly crazy, Queen of Hearts is a pure moment of happiness. I highly recommend it!

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