Angel-A Movie Review

Paris, France is the backdrop for Luc Besson's Angel-A; a contempo Romeo and Juliet like love story with a central theme of self-acceptance and the value of human life and relationships.

When Andre, a 28-year-old gambler of miniscule stature who owes tens of thousands of dollars to loan sharks throughout Paris, is given an ultimatem to cough up a 40,000 Euro debt by midnight he decides to commit suicide by jumping from one of the cities famous bridges. However as Andre makes ready for the task he happens upon Angela a beautiful, statuesque blonde that aims to steal his thunder. As she leaps into the Seine he instinctively jumps in to rescue her. After successfully dragging himself and the woman to shore, he hipocritically berates her for trying to deprive the world of her youth and beauty; yet she assures him that what counts is her internal rotteness. As a result Andre sets out on a new-found quest to vindicate himself with Angela's help, while convincing her that life is worth living.

Angel-A is a charming, worthy representation of Besson's oevre; encompassed in this his 10^th Directorial effort, and his first time behind the camera since the 1999 film The Messenger: The Story of Joan of Arc. The film shines with a Besson penned script that returns to the femme fatale dominated plot that characterized his earlier films like La Femme Nikita and Leon: The Professional. Yet this symbolic outing focuses on the subtlety of theme based dialogue, rather than rock-em sock-em action, as the driving force of the film; which gives the piece a zen-like quality in which violence serves a higher thematic purpose. As a result the film singles out the characters and not a lot of actions takes place throughout, which causes the script to lag at points.

Apart from the relatively average script Angel-A manages to captivate through other avenues. Precise casting and radiant performances from the principle actors light up the screen, keeping interest. The crowning achievement of this film is its ravishingly exquisite black and white cinematography that manages to capture a beautiful, yet hauntingly depopulated Paris filled with deserted streets; singling out the quirky pair as their journey leads them past nearly every Parisian landmark. Nifty special effects, splendid editing, and a keen soundtrack round out this gem of a film.For fans of Luc Besson, Angel-A is a causticly sincere, yet ample effort to trade action for dialogue; in a sentimental, yet stylish film that seeks to prove that inner beauty is what really matters in life.