Who wants to see a French girl fall madly and lustily in love with a tilt-a-whirl? Absolutely nobody. Writer-director Zoé Wittock seems to think the original idea behind her movie may result in something mysterious and strange, but the problem is she doesn’t really know what to do with it. Awkward and shy Jeanne (Noémie Merlant) is an awkward loner with a very horny mother (Emmanuelle Bercot) that keeps telling her to find a guy. Does a Tilt-A-Whirl count? The towering neon-lit machine is an attraction at the amusement park where Jeanne works. During night shifts, when nobody’s around and she cleans up the mess left by patrons, Jeanne ends up, ahem, riding the ride and soaking up in the greasy lubricant it regularly spills when turned off. Eventually Jeanne’s actions become known, she defends her love for the tilt by saying “Jumbo gave me an orgasm!” others defend her attractions, in the name of tolerance, uttering such ludicrous dialogue as “Who cares who she loves if it’s not hurting someone?” It’s just that kind of movie. Merlant spends most of the movie sniveling and mewling. Her character, much like every other person in this movie, is cardboard. It’s a rather blazing shame considering Wittock is a visually very talented filmmaker, the red and blue neon soaked colors used in the scenes between Jumbo and Jeanne are pure eye candy. The script itself, however, is hot garbage.
SCORE: C-