Filmmaker Michel Gondry has had his hands in all sorts of projects. He’s made music videos, short films, documentaries, and even television commercials. He has also made a handful of feature films of which I have seen two – the visually striking and potent “Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind” and the painfully unwatchable “The Green Hornet”. His most recent film “Mood Indigo” falls somewhere in between the two.
I was really excited for “Mood Indigo” not so much because of Gondry but because of its cast which features some of France’s most recognized performers. Romain Duris, Audrey Tautou, and Omar Sy bring a huge spark to this strange romance fantasy, but they can only do so much. Gondry goes all-in creating his surreal Dali-esque dreamworld. He bombards us with it and within the narrow bounds of a two hour movie it’s just too much.
The film is based on “Froth on the Daydream”, a 1947 novel by Boris Vian. It tells the story of a wealthy and happy man named Colin (Duris). He loves his life. He loves the food and company of his cook Nicolas (Sy). He has a wonderful and trustworthy best friend Chick (Gad Elmaleh). Gondry shows us Colin’s life through a wild assortment of off-the-wall but playful imagery and gadgetry. This is important because it is truly intended to be a visual representation of Colin’s state of mind. The visuals grow more whimsical and colorful when he meets and falls in love with Chloé (Tautou). The two hit it off and in no time are married.
Colin and Chloé’s relationship drive the remainder of the film both visually and narratively. The two are madly in love and Gondry visualizes it in a number of vibrantly wacky and bizarre ways. But that changes when Chloé is diagnosed with a terminal illness. Not only does the story take on a more depressing tone, by the visuals go from bright and playful to dreary and bleak. It’s a direct reflection of Colin’s mood and state of mind as his life literally decays right before our eyes. It’s a fascinating stylistic approach that shows Gondry’s insanely cool creative side.
At the same time it is Gondry’s wild surreal world that is the movie’s biggest flaw. While the craziness does a great job of interpreting feelings it also goes overboard and becomes an annoyance. Gondry never pulls back and he sometimes smothers his story with his relentless imagery. Quite frankly some of it made no sense and came across as indulgent. I appreciate the film telling a good story in a very unorthodox way, but I often found myself distracted from the main story and at times uninterested in what Gondry was doing. Too much is too much.
Gondry’s stylistic excesses hurt the film but they don’t hurt the performances. Duris and Tautou have always been able to act with charisma and charm and it’s no different here. Both gracefully move from jaunty and merry to downcast and broken. But I had the most fun watching Omar Sy. He may be the most unique character in the film and Sy gives one of the best supporting performances of 2014. These three are joys to watch and they are the film’s most appealing components. As with the moving and poignant story, their performances sometimes get overshadowed by Gondry’s relentless visual wackiness. That’s unfortunate because ultimately that is what keeps “Mood Indigo” from being as good as it could have been.
Keith & the Movies 
This sounds like it might be up my alley, I love super surreal stuff, and I loved ‘Sunshine..”. Nice write-up mate, gives a good description of what the film is like. it reminds me a little of Upstream Color – have you seen that? Made by the guy who did Primer
Loved Upstream Color. This is actually a lot different than it. Much of this was surreal just for the sake of being surreal. Sometimes it served the story well, but other times it distracted from it. Still well worth seeing.
Shame that this might very well be what could have happened to Eternal Sunshine if Gondry had pursued even more dramatic visual creativity there, but in that film there was such a poetic balance between visual and psychological/emotional/what-have-you. Such a great film, Eternal Sunshine.
As for this, I am captivated by its unique title. I might still check this out but I’ve got a guard up thanks to your good review.
Thanks bro. This one does lack that balance you speak of. And it’s really a shame because the wacky visuals sometimes are a perfect reflection of the story. But Gondry doesn’t know when to let his foot off the gas. Still found myself moved by the end. I still recommend it.
Interesting review Keith. I read a little about this last year and have it queued somewhere but there are certainly films I’m keener to see. I’ve enjoyed some of Gondry’s work in the past but I find it a bit like Jeunet’s, in the sense that it can be exhausting and maybe too whimsical at times. But there are times when I think the visual creativity of both is quite something.
It’s interesting, there are moments when the imagery is such a vivid, stunning portrait of a certain feeling, emotion, or even plot point. Gondry’s creative eye really shines in these moments. But there are other times when it seems to be surreal just for the sake of being surreal. Those are the moments that grew old to me.
I’ll definitely give it a go, it sounds interesting.
I adore Romain Duris so I might be tempted to check this one out!
He is such a good versatile actor. I have loved so many of his performances.
Gondry is an interesting director. At least he knows what he wants to say, I guess. I ADORE Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, but outside of that I’ve never been bowled over by one of his films. I’m excited to finally see this though, and your review has me thinking that, even if it isn’t perfect, it’s worth checking out for sure.
Definitely worth checking out my friend. There is a lot that this film does right. You can’t help but be impressed. I wish Gondry was more consistent here. He just loses focus at times which is a little annoying.
I like the sound of this, though it’s a bummer it wasn’t a better film. Love the cast though, esp Omar Sy who impressed me in The Intouchables.
The cast is great and it’s a film worth seeing. Unfortunately the surreal imagery bombards you and became a bit much for me.