CHICAGO – Patrick McDonald of HollywoodChicago.com appears on “The Morning Mess” with Dan Baker on WBGR-FM (Monroe, Wisconsin) on March 21st, 2024, reviewing the new streaming series “Manhunt” – based on the bestseller by James L. Swanson – currently streaming on Apple TV+.
Film Review: Connection Overcomes Handicaps in ‘The Intouchables’
CHICAGO – One of the big movie hits in French cinema last year, “The Intouchables,” comes to our shores with a powerful and unusual redemption tale. The true story of a wealthy but quadriplegic man, and his poor but proud caregiver is the subject of a very compelling relationship.
Rating: 3.5/5.0 |
The film flies on the performances of Francois Cluzet as the rich guy and newcomer Omar Sy as his attendant. The two have a terrific chemistry, especially in the quieter moments. Filmmakers Olivier Nakache and Eric Toledano took some liberties with the real story, and in some instances the caregiver character is made to be more miraculous than his background, but overall they honor the unusual pairing with perspective on race, class, immigration and the sorrows of handicap. Represented are the overt physical limitations and the not-so-apparent psychological ones.
Philippe (Francois Cluzet) is a man of wealth in France. Rendered a quadriplegic after a para-gliding accident, he has gone through a series of primary caregivers that don’t gibe with his lust for life. Everything changes when an unusual applicant for the job named Driss (Omar Sy) crosses his path. Driss lives in the French housing projects, and is looking for a signature to collect unemployment. Philippe likes the candid immigrant’s brashness, and asks him to take the job on a trial basis.
Everything goes well, and the trial turns into a permanent employment. Driss does not take any guff from his handicapped boss, and the employer is re-introduced to the life he wants through the unconventional care that Driss provides. The whole household is transformed by the presence of Driss, who starts to paint, learn to drive and go on adventures with Philippe that change both their lives.
Photo credit: Thierry Valletoux for The Weinstein Company |