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Bad Company

1999, Movie, NR, 98 mins

Bad Company: Review

BAD COMPANY | MAUVAISES FREQUENTATIONS
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It all starts harmlessly enough, but be warned: This powerfully acted teenage drama isn't Sixteen Candles. By the time it's over, this deeply unsettling tale of romantic obsession strays far from the usual course of teen flicks and into some very dark territory. Fourteen-year-old Delphine Vitrac (Maud Forget) is impressionable, introverted and completely under the spell of the new girl in school, Olivia (Lou Doillon). With her daringly low-slung pants, skimpy halter tops and tangle of hair extensions, Olivia is everything Delphine isn't: independent, knowing beyond her years (especially when it comes to boys) and apparently fearless. The two become fast friends and Delphine's soon shoplifting CDs, hanging out in nightclubs and dating Laurent (Robinson Stevenin), a bad apple with an angel's face. Delphine falls hard and fast — as far as she's concerned, it's love — but Laurent is only mildly interested and plans to skip town for Jamaica with his best friend Alain (Maxime Mansion), who's also Olivia's current squeeze. The only thing holding them back is money for the airfare, until Laurent devises a way to put Delphine's undying devotion to good use and make some fast cash: prostitution. Olivia is appalled by the proposition, but Delphine is all too willing to prove her love. Director Jean-Pierre Ameris and screenwriter Alain Layrac based this controversial story on a real-life incident, and approach the potentially prurient material with a clear-eye and a simple question: How does something like this happen? The answer, it seems, doesn't lie in economic deprivation (Delphine and her family are well-off) or peer pressure (in an interesting twist, the far more passive Delphine pulls Olivia down with her), but in a deep-seated emotional need that isn't so easy to trace. The film is filled with empathy, acute psychological insight and the knowledge that, for teenagers, first love can be an overwhelming experience — something dangerously akin to madness. (In French, with English subtitles.) leave a comment --Ken Fox
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