Today marks the anniversary of the official opening of the Eiffel Tower. So it seemed appropriate to finally publish this review of the movie, which I have been meaning to publish now for a long, long time. Here it is:
This was a movie that I had wanted to see ever since first hearing about it. Having always had a fascination with the Eiffel Tower since my first visit there back when I was just 7 years old, and still loving the monument, this movie felt like a must see.
Romain Duris plays the title character of Gustave Eiffel, the man who designed and built the Eiffel Tower. Emma Mackey plays his love interest, Adrienne Bourgès. Both are strong in their roles, and portrayed believable characters who provoked strong yet subtle emotional reactions from one another.
Now, it should be noted that there are serious questions regarding the historical accuracy of this romance. In short, it never happened. Yes, the romance is entirely fictional, created for dramatic effect. When I was younger, this likely would have bothered me tremendously, and perhaps prevented me from really being able to enjoy the movie. In the older version of myself, I now allow artists to take poetic license to create a story like this, even though it is based in history. It does make the movie more entertaining and accessible than perhaps it otherwise would be for many people. So it seemed like a decent move, even if it feels a little melodramatic at times.
So be it.
Nevertheless, there is an awkward tension between the two which felt convincing. Of course, you do not know the full back story of their past relationship. And in fact, as I understand it, this is not historically accurate. However, as far as the film is concerned, for drama purposes, the romance/not quite romance between them is done very well.
Personally, I rather enjoyed this movie. Again, it is not meant to be taken strictly as a historical account, since there are inaccuracies. However, it nevertheless does give a feel for what the construction of the Eiffel Tower in Paris back in the 1880's might have looked and felt like. Also, even if it did not happen, the romance between Eiffel and his love interest was quite compelling.
So I recommend this movie, of course with the understanding that people are not meant to take it overly seriously or literally.
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