One might think there’s more than enough of bittersweet comedies conquering the screens, but Yann Samuels' writer/director debut Love Me If You Dare, as the international title is, will not only challenge you but also surprise you with the black comedy of childlike innocence and violent cruelty.
The story is born out of a game of truth or dare between the two central characters Julien and Sophie. With Julien as the narrator we find out that he as a child had to watch his mother die. One of his most precious belongings was a round box out of tin resembling a merry-go-round, from his mother. First time he meets Sophie is when she’s being bullied because she’s a foreigner, when they’re eight. Julien tries to cheer her up by presenting the box to her, which in turn leads to Sophie daring him to pull a prank on her tormentors. This is the start of their everlasting friendship and they continue playing this game, daring the box back and forth, as they grow up. Ignoring the obvious attraction between them, the dares escalate and get a dark and dangerous tone. The dares range from peeing one’s pants in front of the principal, wearing the underwear on the outside of the clothes on the day of an exam to promising to say “no” at the altar. Not even a wedding will stand in the way of the game.
It is not much about the conventional idea of love but more about companionship. The importance to have someone to spend one’s life with. Their game goes from folly to insult in a manner of seconds sometimes and finally at one point it breaks them up and keeps them apart for 10 years, however, still as a dare. As the time goes by, they move on with their lives. Julien gets married, becomes a father and Sophie gets serious with a promising football player. In the end of the day however, when it’s time to take the game to the next level, the people in their lives don’t matter. They play along as they always have. In fact, they are narcissistic as ever and quite the most unlikeable and cruel protagonists.
Their actions can be interpreted as somewhat disturbing and whether you like Julien and Sophie will determine if you will enjoy the film or not. The first scene, which for us at the beginning is not explained much, is a set-up for the final scene and is a beautiful proof that we’re too used to the All-American tone of realism and don’t know how to react when we have a film battling realism and expressionism. As a reflex one will attempt to fit Love Me If You Dare to a realism mode but will be a totally different experience once you stop taking everything too literally. It is one of the few gems that will challenge you and force you to think. The last thing it will do is leave you indifferent.
The story is born out of a game of truth or dare between the two central characters Julien and Sophie. With Julien as the narrator we find out that he as a child had to watch his mother die. One of his most precious belongings was a round box out of tin resembling a merry-go-round, from his mother. First time he meets Sophie is when she’s being bullied because she’s a foreigner, when they’re eight. Julien tries to cheer her up by presenting the box to her, which in turn leads to Sophie daring him to pull a prank on her tormentors. This is the start of their everlasting friendship and they continue playing this game, daring the box back and forth, as they grow up. Ignoring the obvious attraction between them, the dares escalate and get a dark and dangerous tone. The dares range from peeing one’s pants in front of the principal, wearing the underwear on the outside of the clothes on the day of an exam to promising to say “no” at the altar. Not even a wedding will stand in the way of the game.
It is not much about the conventional idea of love but more about companionship. The importance to have someone to spend one’s life with. Their game goes from folly to insult in a manner of seconds sometimes and finally at one point it breaks them up and keeps them apart for 10 years, however, still as a dare. As the time goes by, they move on with their lives. Julien gets married, becomes a father and Sophie gets serious with a promising football player. In the end of the day however, when it’s time to take the game to the next level, the people in their lives don’t matter. They play along as they always have. In fact, they are narcissistic as ever and quite the most unlikeable and cruel protagonists.
Their actions can be interpreted as somewhat disturbing and whether you like Julien and Sophie will determine if you will enjoy the film or not. The first scene, which for us at the beginning is not explained much, is a set-up for the final scene and is a beautiful proof that we’re too used to the All-American tone of realism and don’t know how to react when we have a film battling realism and expressionism. As a reflex one will attempt to fit Love Me If You Dare to a realism mode but will be a totally different experience once you stop taking everything too literally. It is one of the few gems that will challenge you and force you to think. The last thing it will do is leave you indifferent.
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