Hyperactive Julien (Guillaume Canet) and shy Sophie (Marion Cotillard) are pre-teen misfits who forge a bond based on their mutual hardships--for Julien it's his mother's terminal illness, and for Sophie it's the ridicule she receives for being Polish. They devise a game in which the passing of a tin carousel between them signals the recipient to carry out an outrageous dare designed by the other, with the trouble they get into only serving to bring them closer together. Ten years later, Julien and Sophie are in college--and while they have both grown to be attractive and intelligent, their relationship is still only platonic and their disruptive game still continues at a fevered pace. Continuing into adulthood and forging separate lives, their dares become more hurtful to each other. It soon becomes apparent that the game has only served to prevent them from admitting their true feelings for each other. This dark and whimsical debut from director Yann Samuell shows the influence of Luc Besson and Jean-Pierre Jeunet, sidestepping traditional French cinematic austerity in favor of splashy, big-budget visuals. In fact, the entrancing first act (in which Julien and Sophie are children) is bathed in a beautiful autumnal glow and features a kinetic style reminiscent of Jeunet's AMELIE. As Julien and Sophie's game escalates, LOVE ME IF YOU DARE lands in bleaker territory, with the performances of Canet and Cotillard and a daring ending giving this surprising romantic fantasy an uncommon resonance.
Customer Reviews:
Avg. Customer Rating: 4.0 / 5.0
Pretentious twaddle Billed as a "darkly comic romantic fantasy" I thought this might be a good film but I was sorely disappointed. A boy and girl with troubled home lives dare each other to do things, with a box being handed over to the one completing the dare and the box owner being the one to set the next dare. Mildly amusing and interesting when done as children but when it continues through adulthood it's evidence of two people needing psychiatric treatment especially as most of the dares are cruel and depressing. The... more info
Love Me If You Dare (Les Jeux d'Enfants) A delightfully original romance, beautifully directed by Yann Samuell. At times hilarious, at other times poignant it follows the relationship between Sophie (Marion Cotillard) and Julien (Guillaume Canet) from childhood to adulthood. Both wracked by heartache in their troubled young lives, they become close friends, setting each other a series of dares, which grow more outlandish with their advancing years. As they start to fall in love they hide their true feelings by setting each other more dangerous... more info
A roundabout love story A nihilist fairytale of love, loss, and self-destructive - or is it self-creative - game play. Inevitably compared to 'Amelie' (it's French, it has a comic book, farcical quality), with an introduction I've seen compared to that of 'Sunset Boulevard', 'Love Me if You Dare' was originally titled 'Jeux d'Enfants' - children's games - and features a merry-go-round toy which the central characters exchange each time it is their turn to dictate the next move.
What begins as a game played by two children... more info
love me if you dare This is an amazing film. Maybe it's because i empathised so much with the ideas in it, but it is a work of genius. Shot in a similar style as Amelie but with darker tones. the little girl, Joséphine Lebas-Joly, i hope goes on to be on our screen for years. I haven't seen many films since the weight of the world crushed my fragile little spirit that I have connected with, eternal sunshine, vanilla sky, amelie and now i have another film to give me hope. thanks for making it.
