A deliriously happy hooker recruits a pimp under delightfully absurd circumtances in Mon homme. Veteran iconoclast Bertrand Blier wouldn’t know a politically correct approach if it sat in his lap, and arthouse patrons will be all the richer for it.
Clearly her director’s muse in the time-honoured European tradition, actress Anouk Grinberg puts her pliant body, pixie-ish face and distinctive, girlish voice front and centre as Marie, an independent prostitute. As she pulls in $1,000 a day, Marie thinks it only fair to rescue Jeannot (Gerard Lanvin), a crusty, blood-caked, bedraggled bum.
The couple’s instant carnal complicity is conveyed in a prolonged and steamy pas de deux. Marie’s so delighted that she professes her love and asks him to be her pimp. Soon she’s recruiting other women, like Sanguine (Valeria Bruni-Tedeschi), a sweet manicurist who trades buffing nails for boffing Jeannot.
As always, Blier explores the transforming power of sex, and as usual, his script is peppered with extravagant zigzags of behaviour and emotion. The director’s patented style remains distinctive and is shot through with daring ideas. The wide-screen photography is excellent throughout.