Untouchable, the new French comedy to hit our screens, is a beautiful homage to French cinema. Directed and written by Olivier Nakache and Eric Toledano, the film, which is based on a true story, tells the tale of the unlikely friendship between tetraplegic aristocrat Phillipe and Driss, a young man from the ghetto, who becomes his caretaker.

We are introduced to our main characters in an amusing car chase sequence where bets are exchanged over whether Driss can evade the police. From the offset it is clear that Phillipe and Driss have great chemistry, their laughter is infectious and I couldn’t help but giggle in almost every scene. Once introduced the first part of the story is left on a cliffhanger whilst we return to the unfolding of the friendship. Driss, a man desiring one thing – his benefit payment, applies for the job as Phillipe’s caretaker with the intention of simply getting a form signed saying he was not eligible for the position.  What he was not expecting was being offered the position, which he is quickly persuaded in taking after he see’s his personal bathroom. From here we are entertained with Driss’s adaptation to caring for Phillipe, including a humoristic turn with a pair of rubber gloves. The friendship continues to grow from strength to strength as we learn about the turmoil that each character has been through, it was wonderful to see the change and influence each character had on the other.

The cast are phenomenal in their roles, for example Anne Le Ny as fellow carer Yvonne and Audrey Fleurot as Phillipe’s assistant, they brought raw emotion and comedy to the screen. But it was Omar Sy and Francois Cluzet who really stood out as the loveable duo, proving themselves with their ability to make the audience laugh and cry. The crew also deserves commendation, the evocative script flowed extremely well, whilst the direction and cinematography were beautiful. The film made me feel so much happiness from start to finish, I couldn’t have asked more from this production.

I could not recommend this movie more to everyone, it was brilliantly written, acted and directed and should go down in history as one of French cinema’s greatest achievements in the 21st century. Untouchable is being screened nationwide.

Written by Roxy Simons.