Coming of Age in a Vacuum
Movie Review of 'Garçon Stupide'
Volume 75, Number 37
| September 15 - 21,
2005FILMCourtesy
Picture This! EntertainmentPierre
Chatagny plays Loic, a remarkably callow young gay man, whose primary companion
is Marie, portrayed by Natacha
Koutchoumov, a friend upon whom he relies even as he remains oblivious to her
feelings.Coming of
Age in a
Vacuum“Garçon
Stupide” follows one gay man’s narcissistic, clueless
pathBy SETH J.
BOOKEYThe road to
self-awareness is often a rocky one. Walking that road willfully blindfolded is
foolhardy. This is the way Loic leads his life in "Garcon Stupide," the
feature-film debut of Swiss director Lionel
Baier.Loic (Pierre Chatagny)
spends his days working a dull job at a chocolate factory, saving evenings and
weekends for drunken bacchanals in the city, where a female friend, Marie
(Natacha Koutchoumov), lets him crash with
her.He seems oblivious to
everything that could harm him but also to the needs of others. His entire sense
of self-worth is summed up in his trim, muscular frame, prominent forehead, and
Roman nose."Garcon Stupide"
opens with Loic meeting Lionel at a McDonald's. Lionel treats him to a meal and
proceeds to ask a lot of questions. The two men met on the Internet, as Loic
seems to meet most men, and he is surprised to be treated like someone who might
be interesting. Lionel's questions are neither intrusive nor extraordinary, but
over time, his interest starts to feel like an
interrogation.Baier takes us
through some of Loic's varied sexual encounters. Loic’s conditioning that
has him believing that he is just a pretty face is made manifest as his tendency
toward voyeurism that borders on the obsessive. He uses his cameraphone to
document his sexual encounters, and later becomes obsessed with a soccer player
(Ruie Pedro Alves) whose image appears all over the local press. Somehow Loic is
able to parlay his voyeurism into a meeting with the athlete and his young
daughter.Loic is so
insensitive he is almost a grown-up version of Truffaut's "Wild Child," the boy
who was raised by wolves. When he jealously lashes out at Marie for having a
sexual encounter of her own—for once!—it's clear that he expects to
be the center of attention. Marie is obviously attracted to him, and he uses
that to his advantage constantly, so he reacts with feral anger when her
dependency on him is
threatened.Loic’s
get-togethers with the older Lionel ultimately taken on a hostile quality. The
younger man cannot understand why Lionel is interested in anything other than
having sex with him. Yet, gradually Loic comes to the realization that he cannot
remain an ignoramus his entire life, no longer finding the cold, uncomplicated
world of Internet mating
satisfactory.Baier's filming
style adds to the story's realism. Using a handheld digital video camera helps
put viewers right on the scene with Loic throughout his encounters. It is not
clear if the object of Baier’s social criticism is promiscuity itself, or
physical pleasure-seeking that becomes mechanical and soulless, but
there’s no doubt that sex has become routine for Loic, rather than
remaining a spiritual wonder. Baier shows sexual situations frankly, including
Loic washing his dick—in astonishing close-up—before bounding from a
trick's apartment while his host yammers on and
on.Baier shows Loic completely
on his own most of the time. Even in the factory scenes, Loic lacks
companionship. He spends the most time with Marie, so his indifference to her
feelings is all the more
startling.Baier used unknowns
for a cast. Chatagny, who himself worked in a Nestlé’s factory in a
mountain town before moving to the big city to pursue his dreams, sought out
Baier to cast him in a film. The fledgling actor is the film’s strongest
asset. Koutchoumov as the friend whose love is not reciprocated bears a forlorn
face throughout the film. Interestingly, Lionel is never seen in the film so his
interactions with Loic leave the audience with the impression that they too are
auditioning the young man after an Internet hook-up. With the close camera work,
we are carefully examining someone who for too long lacks the wherewithal to
look at himself.
Posted: Thu - September 15, 2005 at 01:13 AM
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Published On: Jun 20, 2009 07:03 PM
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