Le Refuge Review

A hot rising star of French cinema at the turn of the new century, François Ozon’s (Swimming Pool, 8 Women) stock has dropped dramatically in recent years, and this disappointing, uneventful two-hander suggests he is treading water. It begins with two junkies, Mousse and Louie (Isabelle Carré and Melvil Poupaud), on a drug binge that only one will survive. Finding she is pregnant, Mousse is encouraged by Louis’ family to have an abortion, but instead she takes off to the seaside, where she is joined by her late lover’s handsome, gay brother (Louis-Ronan Choisy). Their strange, sexually charged friendship results in some wonderful onscreen chemistry, but the story is slight and even prosaic, in the way French odd-couple dramas tend to be. As usual, though, Ozon’s soundtrack choices are great.