Cannes Review: ‘Anaïs in Love’ (‘Les amours d’Anaïs’)

Every once in a while there comes a moment when we all think about living life in the present without worrying about the future too much. We want to fall in love, feel the world around us, be in the moment, and lead a life with little concern for the consequences. But it isn’t possible, is it? We have all become realists. But for Anaïs (Anaïs Demoustier), being a realist is not possible given her personality of living in the moment, her irresistible charm, and her restlessness. These traits will soon lead her on a journey of profound desire with a few hiccups along the way. 

Anaïs is 30, broke, and a graduate student. She is always running with her bike on the streets of Paris. Even though she says she hates being late, she is always late. But she is a ray of sunshine, claustrophobic, doesn’t like her lovers sleeping in the same bed with her, always talking, always on the move, speaking everything that comes to her mind at 100 miles an hour with a whirlwind of emotions. She is confused about who she is, what she wants in life, and questions if she doesn’t know how to love. 

Anaïs has a lover, Raoul (Christophe Montenez), but she’s not sure she loves him anymore. She drops the news of getting an abortion casually to Raoul to which he responds by saying, “You don’t realize what human interaction is” and accuses her of being self-centered. Anaïs is a person who radiates positive energy. She is free and brave with a demanding nature, which attracts people towards her. She meets Daniel (Denis Podalydès), an editor at a party who becomes instantly infatuated with her. Anaïs has a brief affair with him, but it is his wife Émilie (Valeria Bruni Tedeschi), a successful writer, novelist, and essayist, whom Anaïs ultimately falls for and leaps toward, following her desire and intuition of what love is. 

In her debut feature, writer-director Charline Bourgeois-Tacquet confidently captures a character who not only brings out this light in life but also reflects on the intelligence she possesses. Most of the time we see Anaïs obtain what she wants. Yet, there are still doubts in her mind about her capabilities as she has yet to finish her thesis on 17th-century descriptions of passion. 

Anaïs’ encounter with Émilie brings out a strong burning desire and gives her the chance to experience love. Early on in the movie, she says if she ever fell in love, really in love, she’d be happy to see the other person every day, morning, noon, and night. Anaïs and Émilie match each other intellectually, philosophically, and even spiritually. While reading Émilie’s novel, Anaïs points out how they share a vision, personality, and tastes. It’s astounding. And as they meet and converse you see how Anaïs’ and Émilie deeply connect to each other, rousing the  power of desire.

Anaïs in Love is led by an energetic, phenomenal, and full-of-life performance from Demoustier. She captivates you from the first frame until the last. At no point in the movie do you feel overwhelmed by her, rather you start to relate to her more. The way Demoustier captures every little thing about this character makes you believe that she was born to play this role. There is childlike energy in her performance with a happy-go-lucky attitude that makes you fall in love with her like Émilie does, who is played by the ever-brilliant Tedeschi. Demoustier shares a strong and effective chemistry with Tedeschi, which helps progress the flirtatious romance between them.  

There is a familiarity in Anaïs in Love that immediately draws you in as an audience. Bourgeois-Tacquet makes sure that familiarity builds upon her unique narrative voice. The influence of Éric Rohmer radiates through like a shining sun with a sprinkle of Greta Gerwig in this restless portrait of a young woman in doubt. Led by a masterful performance from Demoustier, Anaïs in Love is surely a movie that you will come back to again and again just to respark that magic that over time becomes diffused.