Odette Toulemonde
At first glance, Odette Toulemonde (Catherine Frot) could be anybody. The single mother of two young adults (still living at home), she works at the beauty counter of a department store and spends evenings making extra money, by sewing feathers and sequins onto ornate cabaret costumes. Yet despite working two jobs to maintain what is, at best, a modest lifestyle, she seems remarkably happy.
Odette finds joy in the simplest of things, including a collection of kitsch dolls displayed on shelves in her small loungeroom. At night, she retreats to her bedroom, where a picture of a silhouette couple on the shore of a tropical island adorns her wall, and where she settles into bed to spend quality time reading the books of Balthazar Balsan (Albert Dupontel) who, despite his impressive name, is no more than the writer of trite mass-fiction. She doesn’t see that: what she sees is a man whose writing was her salvation.
We glean, from Odette’s occasional flights of fancy, that her head is in the clouds, but appearances can be deceptive. When she gets to meet her hero, Balsan, what he subsequently learns from her, is a lesson for us all.
Odette could be, as her name suggests, anybody, everybody, or nobody. But in fact she is quite exceptional: in her approach to life, her ability to rise above the patronising attitudes of others, and her ability to experience a joy that makes her soar (literally). It’s tempting to turn up one’s nose at her taste in décor, and literature too, for that matter, but she wouldn’t mind. She has a quiet and dignified resilience.
This is a striking contrast to Frot’s last leading role (La Tourneuse de Pages, 2006). She has spent years in supporting roles, but with these performances, she has proven herself to be most deserving of lead role status.
Odette Toulemonde is a delightful film, enhanced by a charming soundtrack.