Film

Movie theaters, reviews and showtimes in New York, plus articles, trailers and more
 

Angel-A (2005)

Director: Luc Besson

2

Critics' rating

Average user rating
3 reviews

Movie review

From Time Out New York

Rie Rasmussen is the kind of tall, leggy model that often appears in Luc Besson movies. (The director used to have a thing for Milla Jovovich.) You may not think you’ve seen her—unless you’ve watched Femme Fatale and observed her slinking around in a diamond-encrusted bra, more of a necklace, in which case you’ve seen a lot of her. Here, given the chance to actually act, Rasmussen quickly fades into the background: another beautiful object in Besson’s busy, hollow Paris. Like Amélie, Angel-A turns the city into a vaguely computerized machine, shot in chilly b&w to no real dramatic effect except to unintentionally remind you of the far-superior Wings of Desire.

Like that angel intervention, Besson’s film (his first after a six-year break) has Rasmussen sent from above to assist scruffy, pint-size motormouth André (comedian Debbouze) in learning key lessons about self-confidence and paying off gangsters. Has there ever been a more nakedly desperate device than the schmuck blessed with the impossibly cute girlfriend? Both actors strain through lengthy scenes of wisecrackery—that is, when Besson isn’t trying to score lame visual jokes about their height difference. The director has never been an artist of depth or significance; now for the first time, he seems old.

Author: Joshua Rothkopf 2007-06-14 16:54:47

Time Out New York Issue 608: May 24–30, 2007

  • Print this page
  • Send to a friend

User reviews of this film

  • Akms said...
    Posted on Feb 12 2008 16:12 Agree with the 2 reviewers - I found this a really good film. Jamel Debouzze is great as a complete loser. Rie Rasmussen is an OK actor but I'm trying to think who could have done a better angel - Renee Z? Nicole K? certainly not Kiera Knightly! Maybe Julia Roberts? This film plays to every male loser wanting to be rescued at 2 in the morning by a wonderful woman who sees past the macho bullshit and booze to find somebody else.
    Report as inappropriate
  • Stephanie said...
    Posted on Feb 08 2008 16:03 This film is a masterpeice, 2 stars is rediculous. Timeout have once again proved that they are incapable of enjoying a beautifully creative film, and giving it the credit it deserves.
    Report as inappropriate
  • Katharine said...
    Posted on Aug 17 2007 12:33 This film is fantastic and the fact that Timeout only gives it 2 stars only makes me question Timeout's ability to review movies!
    Report as inappropriate

What do you think?
Post your review now

clear rating
Min 1 star. Zero stars will be treated as unrated.

*mandatory fields


Angel-A

Cast & crew

Director: Luc Besson

Producer: Luc Besson

Cast: Jamel Debbouze, Rie Rasmussen, Gilbert Melki, Serge Riaboukine full cast

Genre(s): Comedy, Romance

Rated: R

Duration: 90 mins

Related articles


Features

Making a name for himself

Making a name for himself

Sin Nombre's Cary Joji Fukunaga learned his lessons well.

To the letter

Forty years later, Costa-Gavras's Z still brims with fury.

Mind over matter

David Cronenberg reflects on a most bizarre body: his own corpus of work.

Fool's gold

Can an Oscar win lead to a cursed career? Here are five stories of postaward professional meltdowns.

We are the championed

Terrorists and teens abound in this year's "Film Comment Selects."

A history of violence

Matteo Garrone's kaleidoscopic Gomorrah wallops you with Italy's crime crisis.

True romantic

James Gray exchanges urban amorality for amour in Two Lovers.

Playing in the dark

MoMA salutes pianist Stuart Oderman's 50 years as the one-man sound of silents.

Junk bonds

Cast and crew recall the making of the classic NYC drug drama The Panic in Needle Park.