Adoration

Director - Fabrice du Weiz (Colt 45, Alleluia)

Starring - Thomas Gioria (Custody, Clique), Fantine Harduin (The New Adventures of Aladdin, Public Enemy), and Benoit Poelvoorde (My Worst Nightmare, Dead Weight)

Release Date - 2019

Genre - Drama/Thriller

Tagline - "Love or nothing"

Format - Bluray (Personal Collection) 

Rating (out of 5):

     My Vinegar Syndrome's partner marathon is coming to a close and I'm doing so with a bang.  When I was ordering May's partner releases from Vin Syn I was on the fence about the Altered Innocence release of the 2019 French film Adoration.  This dramatic thriller didn't look like something I would enjoy so I was hesitant at first.  At the last second I went ahead and tossed it in the cart and was surprised to see that this is the one I enjoyed the most out of the four films I snagged.  Funny how that sometimes happens.  

     The film follows 12 year old Paul (Gioria) who lives as a psychiatric hospital with his mother when he meets the young Gloria (Hardiun).  Gloria is new to the hospital and Paul becomes obsessed with her.  However, Gloria is extremely unstable and convinces him to help her escape.  Soon the two love birds are on the run where Gloria increasingly becomes unstable.

     I didn't think I would enjoy Adoration but here I am.  It was a a beautiful story about young love and mental illness that you really need to see to appreciate it.  The acting in this one is absolutely fantastic.  The film has a great cast but the film's leads, Gioria and Harduin, are the stars of the show.  Their characters contract very well and they do a phenomenal job at bringing them to life.  With that being said. Harduin gave me chills as the mentally disturbed young woman.  She was fantastic.  The story for this one is a young love story that meets paranoia and mental illness.  It works and does a great job at slowly showing how fast a patient can slip without their medication and treatment.  However, the film does feel a bit repetitive at times where we find the young pair encountering adults only to have her break and convince Paul they are trying to kill them.  After the first incident you start to see it coming.  Finally, the film does have a little blood but nothing you gorehounds are looking for.  Overall, Adoration is a fantastic dramatic thriller with a little pinch of romance.  I highly recommend checking this one out especially if you were on the fence like I was.  I really enjoyed it.