Spelling it out: ‘Read My Lips’ is better than Bush promises

Read My Lips Starring Vincent Cassel and Emmanuelle Devos Directed by… Read My Lips Starring Vincent Cassel and Emmanuelle Devos Directed by Jacques Audiard

Carla is a lonely secretary who used to be deaf but has gained some hearing ability through the use of aids. She has a tendency to take out the hearing aids, though, and withdraw from her surroundings. When her boss tells her to hire herself an assistant, she requests a “male, 25 years old, with nice hands.” Paul is fresh out of prison and has zero office skills. No matter, she hires him anyway.

“Read My Lips” follows two misfits who won’t face the fact that they may fit each other. Paul (Vincent Cassel) and Carla (Emmanuelle Devos) will have to go through hell together before they have a chance of sensing their compatibility. Their story somehow manages to be a romance without romance.

There’s nothing cute about it, it’s not “You’ve Got Mail” or anything like that, where two people who are obviously perfect for each other spend 90 minutes bumbling around before they end up in each other’s arms; it feels real. And yes, it’s French – of course it’s French.

The two don’t exactly become friends; they just become sort of entangled as they find themselves helping each other to get by. Paul is broke, so Carla sets him up with a place to stay and an advance on his pay. In return, Paul steals an important file from a coworker of Carla’s who has been slyly taking over her accounts, forcing the coworker to resign. But when mobsters show up demanding a bunch of money that Paul owes them, helping him involves great risk for Carla. He needs her because she has an ability that’s crucial to his heist plan: She can read lips.

While the early part of the film is carried by the honest, intelligent scripting of the (non)romance and the strong performances of both leads, the last chunk is all about Hitchcockian suspense. At some point, the film transforms into a tense nightmare. But the morph is so effortless, the viewer isn’t jarred at all. The thriller elements just creep in, and the emphasis on characters is maintained – they arrive here naturally and their development never takes a back seat.

Ditch the multiplex and go see “Read My Lips.” You’re better off catching this version than the really expensive, really soulless version Hollywood will probably end up making.