In the landscape of romantic comedies, the sub-genre of "meeting the in-laws" is a well-trodden path. Usually, it involves a bumbling protagonist trying desperately to impress a stern father or a critical mother. But in 2015, French-American filmmaker Julie Delpy flipped the script with a dark, satirical edge in her film Lolo (released in France as Lolo et la trajectoire de l'amour ).
★★★★☆ (4/5) – Dark, uncomfortable, and brilliantly acted. Not for everyone, but essential for fans of Euro-satire. lolo 2015 movie
At its core, Lolo is a romantic comedy—but imagine a rom-com that takes a sharp left turn into psychological thriller territory. The film follows Violette (played by Julie Delpy herself), a 40-something Parisian fashion industry veteran who is chic, successful, and fiercely independent. After a chance encounter in the spa town of Biarritz, she meets Jean-René (Dany Boon), a charming, somewhat provincial IT consultant from the southwest of France. He is the polar opposite of the cynical, fast-talking Parisian men she usually dates—he is kind, optimistic, and refreshingly unpretentious. In the landscape of romantic comedies, the sub-genre
The triumph of the 2015 movie Lolo rests largely on the shoulders of the character Lolo himself. Played with chilling precision by newcomer Karin Viard (no relation to the famous actress of the same name, often credited as Kárin Viard in some contexts to avoid confusion, though the actor is often listed simply as Lolo or Kárin), the character is a fascinating antagonist. The film follows Violette (played by Julie Delpy