Alice et Martin

Juliette Binoche and Alexis Loret

André Téchiné's Alice et Martin is a 1998 romantic melodrama that, as with many Téchiné films, has a backdrop of family trauma. Alexis Loret plays Martin, an illegitimate issue of a cold and cruel father (an effective Pierre Maguelon). Martin had gone to live with his father at age ten and was devastated at being separated from his beloved mother (an ineffective Carmen Maura). After his father's death, Martin wanders the countryside like a vagabond until he is incarcerated for petty theft. Afterwards, he takes shelter at the Paris apartment of his step-brother Benjamin (Mathieu Amalric). Benjamin is gay and a struggling actor who shares his flat with an unsuccessful violinist named Alice (Juliette Binoche). Martin falls for Alice and begins stalking her. He also has a meteoric rise as a fashion model which he regards ambivalently. Alice, initially put off by Martin's creepy manner of courtship, eventually fall for the lug.

Alice and Martin take off for a romantic sojourn in Spain. There, Alice tells Martin that she is pregnant. He is flummoxed by the news and seems unable or unwilling to plan for the future. In a long flashback, we learn of his culpability in his father's death. Martin feels that he must make amends for his crime. Despite the opposition of his father's wife, Martin confesses to his crime and goes to jail. We see the very pregnant Alice struggling to make ends meets as a wedding musician. She vows to wait for Martin until he is sprung.

Martin's contrition is supposed to be an act of repentance that results in a just verdict and peace of mind for the troubled youth; like Raskolnikov's confession in Crime and Punishment.  Unfortunately, Alexis Loret's blank performance muddles that effect. Martin is only twenty, so he is a bit of a tabula rasa, but he is also supposed to be suffering from mental health issues. Loret was in fact a model that Téchiné plucked from obscurity for the role, so it is not a surprise that he could not summon a performance that outlines the darker shades of his character. Still, this throws the emotional payoff of the picture out of whack. Loret cannot help look like a bit an amateur compared to Binoche and Amalric, two pillars of French cinema who are at the top of their game here.

Téchiné's script, written with Olivier Assayas and Gilles Taurand, is incisive and gives some indelible monologues to both Binoche and Amalric. However, as in his best films (Ma saison préférée, Wild Reeds, and Thieves), Téchiné proves himself to be better at conception than execution. He is a much more skillful writer than director. He is adept enough at interior drama, but flails at exteriors and scenes of action. His outdoor tracking shots add nothings to the dialogue. The filming of Martin's father's death is an almost complete botch. Flaws like these prevent Alice et Martin from attaining the greatness hinted at by its best performance. Instead, it is an effective, if downbeat, soap opera.