CANNES – Celebrated filmmaker Laurent Cantet passed away from cancer a little over a year ago. He’d won the Palme d’Or in 2008 for “The Class,” and his final directorial effort was intended to be “Enzo,” a portrait of a young man from a wealthy family attempting to find himself. As fate would have it, Cantet never had the chance to direct the film, but his peer and friend Robin Campillo, best known for 2017’s “BPM,” made sure his vision came to life. The result is a drama full of intriguing ideas, and one unexpectedly memorable performance, that is often more obvious than it wants to be.
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Set in the South of France, Cantet and Campillo (who co-wrote the screenplay with Gilles Marchand) introduce Enzo (Eloy Pohu) baking under the sun at a construction site. The youngster is soon being chastised by his co-workers for being too slow and for shoddy work. After the building owner points out Enzo’s mistakes, his frustrated boss (Philippe Petit) decides to bring his young apprentice home to confront his parents. Having only spoken to his father on the phone, Enzo’s boss is keenly unaware that the 16-year-old is not from a working-class family like most of his employees. In one of the best moments of the film, his boss discovers Enzo’s family lives in an upscale, modern home with a sea view that, from the outside, is remarkably similar to the setting of Bong Joon-ho’s “Parasite” (if it had a pool). No, we weren’t expecting that connection either, but class conflict as a universal theme in the 21st Century continues to endure.
Enzo, it turns out, has dropped out of the standard French education system. His parents seem ideal. His mother, Marion (Élodie Bouchez), an engineer, is loving and understanding (she is so supportive she hates the term “drop out”). His father, Paolo (Pierfrancesco Favino, excellent as always), a professor, genuinely cares and wants only what is best for his son. He certainly doesn’t believe this is the way to go, especially after Enzo has demonstrated impressive skill as an artist, but is biting his tongue as much as he can. In contrast to Enzo’s decision to attempt a career in manual labor, his older brother (Nathan Japy) is a star pupil hoping to attend university in Paris (I mean, of course, he is).
Despite Enzo’s family’s bourgeois background contrasting with his chosen profession, this is a very familiar family dynamic on display. What Laurent and Campillo seemingly want to examine is the teenage tendency to rebel and explore in ways that may or may not last. And despite some narrative choices that are obvious the moment they are introduced (we won’t spoil one that is genuinely eye-rolling), there is never any real tension about where Enzo will find himself. Instead, what makes the film compelling at all is Enzo’s crush on his somewhat older co-worker Vlad (Maksym Slivinskyi).
Along with his friend Miroslav (Vladislav Holyk), Vlad is a Ukrainian national attempting to earn more money by working in France. Early on, Miroslav reveals that the pair have been called back to their homeland to fight in the war, but Vlad is refusing to return. Enzo becomes fascinated by the “real world” implications his friends are experiencing. Lives dramatically different from the privileged household he returns to every night. When Vlad befriends Enzo, the youngster might appear to misconstrue their bond. Or perhaps he doesn’t (notably, the film makes it clear multiple times and in numerous circumstances that Enzo is underage).
In the film’s production notes, Campillo states that Vlad is straight. Enzo is reaching for someone unattainable. Vlad is a much-needed life lesson as Enzo finds himself. Perhaps Campillo shouldn’t answer that question. Perhaps keeping it more ambiguous gives the scenario more nuance. Slivinskyi’s performance won’t convey Campillo and Laurent’s intention to many viewers, and it only diminishes the intended emotional impact of the film’s final scene, a hint of the profound ambitions the filmmakers aspired to.
In his first professional screen role, Slivinskyi gives Vlad the needed sexiness and charisma Enzo is attracted to, but also conveys a lifetime of heartbreak behind his haunting gaze (if he doesn’t have a good European film agent, he should get one). On the other hand, our hero, Enzo, is going to be fine, that’s pretty clear early on (and, frankly, Pohu may be a bit too understated to make you care). But, Vlad? That’s a much more tantalizing tale to uncover. That’s whose story you want to unfold. And that’s where “Enzo” leaves you wanting. [C+]

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