I saw this film about 2 hours ago and I thought definitely merited a comment. Classic Ozon, it's got it all- dark humour, enough sexuality to satisfy even the most European of film goers, suspense and pathos.The film follows the story of Alice and her boyfriend Luc as they subsequently kill their classmate, go on the run and end up being imprisoned by a seemingly psychotic although rather sentimental woodsman.The story is fragmented: the immediate events and flashback sequences. These flashbacks are initially really well placed and effective as they progressively provide further and further insight into how the couple come to be where they are, their motivations and especially the nature of their relationship. The pacing is great in the first 3 quarters of the film though as past and present catch up to one another the film lags a little due to repetitiveness and a pretty useless dream sequence.Presented from the first frame as the driving force, Alice is in control. She convinces Luc that the beguiling Said had his friends gang rape her and is now blackmailing her into having sex with him for fear of photos of the incident surfacing.The first act is seemingly pretty serious- the violent murder of Said, the lengthy process of transporting his body to bury it, the panicked arguments of the two and the robbing of the jewellery store. This is all really enjoyable due to the humour and the absurdity of the situation: Alice walking around the supermarket in a blood-stained dress with a giant shovel and Luc shoving cookies down his pants. While burying the body, we are made aware that someone has seen them do it. This is foreshadowed earlier so it's pretty expected but only as the two realise they're being watched do things begin to escalate. After getting lost, Luc stumbles on the woodsman's cabin. Hungry and desperate, they break in only to be caught red-handed by the odious woodsman himself.The second act sees the story take a darker turn as the woodsman locks them both in the cellar. Now it gets interesting as the woodsman reads Alice's diary. Now we're introduced to the series of flashbacks. These are particularly effective in establishing Luc and Alice as a somewhat dysfunctional, mismatched but close couple. Luc is completely endearing as the pragmatic virgin, the essentially good guy swayed by the oversexed, demanding and manipulative Alice who parallels Julie in Swimming Pool. Said is great as the playboy of ambiguous sexuality who fascinates them both and who's only real crime is of having a one track mind. We follow Luc and Alice as she conceives of the crime and he plays along, initially hesitant but persuaded by the love he has for Alice and the red-herring rape photo fabrication.Reading the diary and gauging Alice pretty aptly, the woodsman warms to Luc and frees him from the cellar, supposedly because he "likes his girls with nothing but muscle and skin over their bones and his boys soft and round". Here begins the relationship of Luc and the woodsman which I personally find as interesting as that of Luc and Alice. Chained by the neck, Luc hasn't much more freedom than Alice but slowly the woodsman proverbially reins him in.The final act sees the escape of Luc and Alice from the woodsman, albeit with his quiet consent, and the subsequent capture of the two after an idealised love scene (this presents a quasi-epiphany for Luc) and a rampant chase through the woods. Luc is caught by the police but urging Alice to go on without him, she eventually is stopped by the river and gets her brains blasted out. This I didn't care about in the slightest but when the woodsman is arrested and violently apprehended Luc is seen screaming from the paddy wagon to let him go I pretty much cried a bucket's worth.The script is great, especially enjoyable are the fights between Luc and Alice as well as their lighter moments (after robbing the jewellery store Alice complains they should have robbed the bakery, they could have gotten croissants).The cinematography//lighting//directing largely matched the tone, there was some excellent juxtaposition and some beautiful shots (Luc's fingers on the headboard, Alice's bedroom) although there were some frustrating cuts, including the later flashbacks, and some self-indulgent drawn out sequences (the blood- every time). The editing fell short at the end as the audience really awaits a wrapping up of loose ends rather than just reiteration. Also somewhat frustrating is the lack of distinct character motivation. I just can't believe someone would kill someone because the wanted some drama. This isn't Murder By Numbers, although it is Ozon and this is ultimately not really the crux of the film.Basically the great elements are the relationships of the three leads, whose performances, especially Jeremie Renier's, leave nothing to be desired. In no way does the script or the acting allow for a two dimensional view of the pairings. Never do you get the impression the relationships are merely predator/prey or leader/follower.

Alice and Luc are in love but Luc is unable to fully consummate their relationship. One day Alice claims she was gang-raped by a bunch of boys led on by one of Luc's schoolmates. Her and Luc plan to kill the boy and dump the body...but things take a disastrous turn.OK it doesn't SOUND like "Hansel and Gretel" but that does kick in during the second half of the film. The film is disturbing--it contains some extreme violence, cannibalism and in your face sex scenes. I spent most of the film being really sickened but I gave this some space and...slowly...I THINK I understand what it's saying.EXTREME SPOILER!!! Alice and Luc are kidnapped by a woodsman who locks Alice in the basement and proceeds to sexually seduce Luc. Also it's made clear that Alice lied about being assaulted--they kill someone for no reason at all. Also it's shown that Luc likes having sex with the guy. At the end Alice is punished (killed) for her sins and Luc is led away pleading for the police not to harm the woodsman. This film seems to be about a young man becoming aware of his sexual orientation. Also it shows the hetero relationship in a very negative light while the gay one is shown matter of factly. Is it saying gay is better than straight? As I gay man I find this quite fascinating. END EXTREME SPOILERThis is not for everyone--the extreme violence and sex is going to disturb most viewers--but I found it fascinating. I can truthfully only give it a 7--I can't say I enjoyed the film but it did make me think.

Ozon's masterpiece is of the public power of ideas that feminism and freedom of sex have fabricated. A young man, Luc, is calculatingly used by a girl Alice who really has a will to power. She intentionally makes Luc to kill a guy: she lies that some guys have raped her and taken photos of it. After a runaway Luc and Alice (and the corpse) are captured by a hermit who has an eye to Luc's boyish charm. He frees Luc from institutionalized interest to girls, even to such extreme that finally Luc takes him as a savior. But the story is also full of surprises. Luc and Alice escape the hermit's lodge and for the first time have sex. In a beautiful landscape they enjoy each other and the nature around them behaves like Disney Dream, cute animals of every size come and cuddle; this is a sharp and deadly picture of the expectations a Westener has when in movies! This work is quite certainly an intentional anti-feminist in spirit, and it also gives the argument, why. Aside of that, the fable is well balanced and beautifully filmed, like a chamber piece.

Ozon has cooked up an intriguing exercise. Drawing from eclectic sources ranging from Grimm's fairy tales, through Walt Disney to Bonnie and Clyde, (just to name a few), it becomes a curious amalgam.The problem is, as interesting as it may well be, Ozon lacks the artistry to utilize all the elements towards an overall vision. He seems much more interested in the bits rather than the whole. This over indulgence with the ideas themselves weakens the effect of the film as a whole.There's much room for interpretation (as with all fairy tales), but owing to the general lack of cohesiveness of this work, one cannot take this all too seriously, since ultimately this is not a movie worthy of serious consideration, despite it's ambitious pretensions. Jeremie Renier has the most interesting and difficult part to play, being both sexually and morally conflicted. It's a well controlled and powerful performance."Criminal Lovers" has the makings of a fascinating movie but Ozon lacks the skill in weaving the elements together. It's the craft that separates the good from the great film makers.