Mood Indigo

Humans are, by nature, fickle, impulsive creatures. Ask me what the number one film I saw at Cannes was, and I'd be pressed to even give you a top five. My favorite color changes every hour depending on my mood. I can fall in love in as many seconds as it takes for someone to smile at me, and fall out of love just as quickly. Our minds can change in an instant, but the world around us rarely reflects those impulses. In Mood Indigo, based on the 1940s French novel L'Écume des jours (“Froth on the Daydream” in English), Michel Gondry has created a reality that beautifully reflects emotions as soon as they occur. Unfortunately, this whimsical reality isn't enough to entertain the audience for all 130 minutes.

The film follows the wealthy and quirky Colin and his relationships with his friends Nicolas (his lawyer/personal chef), Chick (his literature-obsessed best friend), and Alice (Chick's equally obsessed girlfriend). After seeing how happy Chick and Alice are, he decides he wants to be in love, too. He meets the equally quirky Chloe at a party and the two quickly fall in love and get married. While on their honeymoon, a water-lily enters Chloe's lung and makes her fall seriously ill. The rest of the film involves Colin slowly losing his fortune as he tries to cure Chloe, support Chick's debilitating literature habit, and maintain his extravagant lifestyle.

The first hour of this film truly shines – of course, this is probably due more to the fact that the novelty of the cinematic structure hasn't worn off yet, and less to do with the story being told well. The Paris in Mood Indigo is a very different Paris than the one in existence today, although on the surface they may look the same. The Parisians in the film live in a world that is literally suited to their every whim. Colin invented a machine called a Pianocktail that creates perfect drinks based on melodies he improvises. Colin and Chick sit down to a delicious and beautifully crafted meal, only to sweep all the plates to the floor when they suddenly decide that they'd rather go skating. Chloe wears a nightgown in bed, but by the time her feet touch the floor, she is dressed precisely for whatever occasion she expects to attend. Colin and his friends aren't any more impulsive than we are, but seeing them in this context makes all of their decisions seem irrational and ridiculous. 
 

In contrast, Gondry's world also shrinks and shatters when his characters are depressed. When Colin finds out Chloe has fallen ill, the walls begin to close in, nearly crushing him. After Chloe, who brought color and vivacity into Colin's life, passes away, the film slowly fades to black and white. All of these moments are beautifully realized by Gondry's cinematographer, Christophe Beaucarne, and his visual effects team.

The movie is weakest in its plot structure. While chaos can be visually appealing, it doesn't make for a cohesive storyline. The climax of the film should be Chloe's death, but we're distracted by too many other elements to grieve her passing. Instead, everything after Colin and Chloe's marriage seems like a resolution, and seeing as that celebration happens about an hour into the story, it's a rather insufferable resolution to sit through. Romain Duris is charming as Colin, and Audrey Tatou seems to have the “odd but beautiful girl” thing down to a science, but their performances aren't enough to make the script enjoyable. In fact, some of my fellow colleagues even said that having all of this whimsy and visual chaos actually detracts from what should be, at its core, a sweet love story.

On some levels, I agree. While I find it hard to recall exactly what happened in the film, I can remember moments that I found particularly well-crafted, regardless of where they were placed in the context of the story. However, Gondry should be commended for giving the audience so many interesting things to ooh and ahh over, especially when the story itself leaves much to be desired.

At the end of the film, Colin remarks that “It's things that change, not people.” The tragedy, of course, is that he doesn't realize that he and his friends are the one causing the changes in the world around them. It's only because people change in Mood Indigo that things change, too. While I appreciate the film's sentiment, it wasn't enough for me to enjoy Mood Indigo on any level other than its surface. High-art concepts intrigue me and are usually are enough to keep me invested in a film, but this one is, unfortunately, all mood and tone with zero substance. And that opinion is not likely to change any time soon.

Directed by Michel Gondry; Screenplay by Luc Bossi (based on the original novel L'Écume des jours by Boris Vian); Cinematography by Christophe Beaucarne; Produced by Luc Bossi. In French, with English subtitles. Running time: 2 hours and 10 minutes.

WITH: Romain Duris (Colin), Audrey Tautou (Chloé), Gad Elmaleh (Chick), Omar Sy (Nicolas), and Aissa Maiga (Alise).