Recommending the requires a caveat. If you are looking for a pleasant, low-stakes romantic comedy to watch on a rainy Sunday afternoon, Lolo will ruin your day. It is a film that makes you squirm.
In the vast landscape of French cinema, the battle of the sexes is often painted with sophistication, wit, and a healthy dose of cynicism. Julie Delpy’s 2015 film Lolo (originally titled Le Skylab but released internationally under its character’s nickname) takes this tradition and hurls it into the deep end of the parental pool. On its surface, Lolo is a bubbly, sun-drenched romp about a fortysomething Parisian fashion executive, Violette, who finds love with a provincial, middle-class computer programmer, Jean-René. However, beneath its veneer of pastel colors and chic coastal getaways lies a savage, darkly comic thesis: the modern adult-child is not just a dependent, but a domestic terrorist.
Upon its release, Lolo premiered at the Venice Film Festival and received a limited theatrical release in the US and UK. Critical reception was decidedly mixed, which is why the film remains a fascinating topic of discussion. lolo 2015 movie
Delpy critiques the bourgeois Parisian intellectual’s version of parenting: permissive, co-dependent, and riddled with guilt. Violette raised a monster because she refused to be a disciplinarian, preferring the ego boost of being the “cool mom.” The film’s climax, set in a sterile, white museum, forces Violette to confront the fact that her love for Lolo is actually a form of self-love. Jean-René, the earnest everyman from the countryside, represents reality—with its cellulite, mortgages, and compromises. Lolo represents the fantasy of eternal, unearned youth.
★★★★☆ (4/5) – Dark, uncomfortable, and brilliantly acted. Not for everyone, but essential for fans of Euro-satire. Recommending the requires a caveat
The 2015 film is a French comedy-drama directed by, co-written by, and starring Julie Delpy
: Conversely, The Guardian's review described the comedy as "charmless" and lacking in narrative plausibility, while Variety felt the film lost its grip on reality as it descended into full farce. In the vast landscape of French cinema, the
Visually, the film is a delight, contrasting the polished, high-fashion world of Paris with the awkward, messy reality of Jean-René’s life. The chemistry between Delpy and Viard provides some of the movie's funniest moments, as they trade ribald advice and cynical observations about men and aging.
This is the radical thesis of Lolo : there is no escape from the family romance. The Oedipal complex has been reversed and weaponized. The child does not want to kill the father; the child wants to bore the father away. And the mother, terrified of her own mortality, will let him.