Charline Bourgeois-Tacquet’s “Anaïs in Love” begins as a typical romantic comedy but soon takes a sharp turn into less explored territory.
30-year old Anaïs (played by Anaïs Demoustier, who looks and acts much younger) has no job; she’s about to lose her apartment as the movie opens. She’s broke and her boyfriend just broke up with her. Studying literature in college, she’s working on a thesis paper based on 17th-Century works; with her ADHD-like lifestyle, this seems as monumental of a task for her as ascending the Himalayas.
Anaïs Demoustier Turns in a Great Performance
Battling a laundry list of anxieties and fears (including claustrophobia), Anaïs is a jittery hyperactive mess; but actress Anaïs Demoustier still makes the character adorable, and the viewer feels themselves rooting for her. Anaïs eventually meets Daniel (played by Denis Podalydès), an older married man who she has a fling with, but soon becomes stricken with his novelist wife Emilie (played by Valeria Bruni Tedeschi). Confused by her feelings for Emilie and desperately wanting to get closer to her, Anaïs maneuvers and cons her way into an elite writer’s conference where Emilie is spending the Summer. The bulk of the film has Anaïs and Emilie bonding at the conference in the beautiful French countryside.
“Anaïs in Love” has fascinating main characters and a lovely bittersweet ending.”
It’s easy to see why Anaïs becomes so enraptured with Emilie. Not only is Valeria Tedeschi’s Emilie beautiful, she’s also a wonderfully uncomplicated person, who’s content with her life and her career as a writer. She’s very intelligent and eloquent, but always humble. The only complex thing about her is her relationship with her husband Daniel, with the two rarely living together, separated most of the time because one or the other is at a conference. Despite the fact Daniel cheats on her, and she’s aware of it, she doesn’t really care. It’s almost as if she stays with Daniel because he’s convenient to talk to, always willing to pick up the phone and have long conversations when she calls him. But there’s really no love there.
Valeria Bruni Tedeschi and Anaïs Demoustier in a scene from “Anaïs in Love.” (Photo credit: Année Zéro).
A Film that Defies Being Called a ‘Romantic Comedy’
It’s fun to watch Anaïs manipulate everyone around her to get more time with Emilie, and it’s lovely watching the two women grow closer. Emilie loves Anaïs’s impulsiveness and energy, where Anaïs loves Emilie’s serenity and intellect. It’s a beautiful story of yearnings, even those yearnings we don’t realize we have; additionally, the two actresses have wonderful chemistry together.
The cinematography of Noe’ Bach (who also worked on the equally gorgeous 2020 film “Beasts”) is beautiful and the scenery (especially the beach scenes) have natural lighting that make them nearly palpable. You find yourself wanting to live in the film and visit those amazing locales.
The cinematography of Noe’ Bach is beautiful…
The film is labelled a “romantic comedy”—and there are some hilarious moments—but calling it a romantic comedy seems criminal. It will inevitably get lumped in with insipid films that litter that category, and that’s a shame. Because “Anaïs in Love” has fascinating main characters and a lovely bittersweet ending; it perfectly captures the insecurity, ecstasy, and pangs of love.
“Anais” in love is available to stream on Vudu, Amazon Prime Video, and other streaming services.
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