242. Bye Bye Morons (Adieu les cons); movie review

 

BYE BYE MORONS

Cert 12

88 mins

BBFC advice: Contains suicide references, moderate bloody images, language, sex references

The dedication to Terry Jones in the opening credits and the brief appearance of Terry Gilliam during the film, give a clear indication of the intentions of the makers of Bye Bye Morons.

And, while, it doesn't reach the heights of The Meaning Of Life, its offbeat humour and dab of pathos would, I am sure, have Monty Python approval.

It stars Virginie Efira as Suze, a hairdresser who has become seriously ill because of breathing in the sprays in her workplace.

Thus, as she fears for her life, she tries to contact the baby who was taken away 28 years ago after she gave birth at just 15.

However, there are many obstacles to tracking down her offspring and she is almost giving up hope at an interview with an official when all hell lets loose.

Yes, in an adjoining room is an IT expert (writer and director Albert Dupontel) who is in extreme emotional distress after being told he is to lose his job.

This is despite him being the brightest in the building and knowing how to access records and manipulate the systems like nobody else.

Indeed, Suze sees him as the key to finding her child.

The unlikely combination, joined eventually by a blind librarian (Nicolas Marié) set about on a search which takes them down some surreal and amusing rather than hilarious alleys.

Dupontel's writing and direction add beautiful and smart detail to the film and give me a thirst for more of his work (I have only previously known him as an actor in thrillers).

And let's not forget the poignancy which Efira's character brings.

I was rather taken with Bye Bye Morons and I suspect Python fans might be too.

Reasons to watch: Smartly written, Pythonesque

Reasons to avoid: No belly laughs

Laughs: None only smiles

Jumps: None

Vomit: Yes

Nudity: None

Overall rating: 8/10

Did you know? Former Monty Python star Terry Jones played in two of Albert Dupontel's movies: The Creator (1999) (as God) and Locked Out (2006) (as a homeless person)

The final word. Albert Dupontel: "I've spent 18 months rewriting the same story for 20 years. Truth be told, I think we all have a lot of stories inside of us, the difficulty for me is getting them out of my mental confusion."

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