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The film follows Lolita, a young overweight woman, as she tries to get her father’s attention, as well as finding a man for herself. Her father proves to be a tricky one. Being a famous writer, he is always busy going to functions or being with his stunning, much younger wife. Suffering from writer’s block, he is however not the most affectionate of husbands and without realising it, he is slowly losing both his wife and his daughter. When Lolita introduces her father to an up and coming author, things change and it looks like maybe he can get his inspiration back. But, is it too late to save both his marriage and his career.

Look At Me won the award for best screenplay in Cannes this year. The script is indeed very well-written, but that doesn’t necessarily make it a great film. It makes it easier to sit through, yes, but did I enjoy the whole thing? Well, I’m not sure. My main problem is that Lolita, who is in most of the film, is such an annoying character. She’s always moaning, feeling sorry for herself. Fine, she might not get that much attention from her father, but she’s an adult. Surely she should be able to handle that. But instead she just moans and annoys the people around her. I found it very hard to feel any sympathy for her.

The film deals with well-known facts, and tries to present them like they were something new. It's easier easier to get places if you know someone famous. Well, duh! People often suck up to you if you know someone famous and will treat you much better if there's a slight chance that you might introduce them to each other. These are all well-known facts, especially in the entertainment business, and not something which only poor Lolita is subjected to. So, she moans about everone just liking her because of her famous father, and starts taking this for granted, thus insulting and pushing away the ones who actually like her.

It's well-written and the performances are good throughout. Lolita's meant to be annoying and she does a great job at it. The things is that it makes the film quite annoying as well.

A film about people using other people to overcome their personal problems. Not a life changing cinematic experience, it does make you think about how to treat people.

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originally posted: 08/30/04 17:54:37
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