Mood Indigo

Back in 2004, director Michel Gondry gave to the world a true modern classic in the form of Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind, which earmarked him out to audiences as a unique visualist with a keen sense for melancholic romance. He followed that up with the double-disappointments of The Science Of Sleep and Be Kind Rewind, before doing the reverse of every director ever and running BACK to Hollywood, only for The Green Hornet to blow up in his face, too. Now he’s returned to solid, Parisian ground, with his best (but still not all that great) movie in a decade.

When he realises that all his best friends are in relationships, wealthy inventor Colin (Romain Duris) decides he wants to meet the woman of his dreams, and promptly falls in love with Chloe (Audrey Tautou). They embark on a fast-forward romance, absolutely perfectly suited for each other, but while on a holiday out of the city Chloe discovers that she has a flower growing in her lung (Metaphor Alert!) and Colin must do everything he can to save her. This for him includes doing the worst thing he could imagine; getting a normal job to pay for her medical bills.

There is apparently a two-hour plus version of Mood Indigo out there shown in other parts of the world, and that becomes immediately apparent during this cut’s latter half. During the romancing stage, Gondry takes his time showing their blossoming love, with Duris and Tautou an immensely adorable couple, matched with Gondry’s always stunning, endlessly inventive visual aesthetic. Colin comes across as one part Pee Wee Herman, one part silent-film star, with his inventions – particularly the cocktail-making piano which makes different alcoholic mixtures dependant on which song you play – only possibly coming from the mind of Gondry.

Then the second half of the movie sets in, and not only does it feel like their heartbreak is being listed by bullet points, but the emotional resonance of their sadness never truly hits home the way it should. After all the build-up, the pay-off seems slight, which in turns makes the entire movie seem slighter still.

Fans of Gondry’s work will find lots of like here, but everyone else will be left with a mixture of bafflement and faint disappointment.