“The Intouchables” opens with a Maserati Quattroporte tearing through Paris at night, police in pursuit. Driss, at the wheel, tells the officers his passenger needs a hospital now. Philippe, a quadriplegic, fakes a seizure. The police, fooled, escort them to the hospital. Driss drives away. That cold open is a promise the rest of the film keeps.
Trailer, via eOnefilms.
Philippe and Driss
Éric Toledano and Olivier Nakache wrote and directed the 2011 French buddy comedy-drama, which runs 113 minutes. François Cluzet plays Philippe, a wealthy quadriplegic who owns a luxurious hôtel particulier and was injured in a paragliding accident. Omar Sy plays Driss, a young man from the projects who has no ambition to get hired. He sits through the caregiver interview only to get a signature proving he was rejected, so his benefits continue. He is told to come back the next morning for the signed document.
He comes back. Yvonne, Philippe’s aide, tells him he has the job on a trial basis.
The film is inspired by the true story of Philippe Pozzo di Borgo and his French-Algerian carer Abdel Sellou. Toledano and Nakache found the pair in “À la vie, à la mort,” a documentary.
What Driss Learns
Driss is inexperienced and uninterested. He does well anyway, caring for Philippe by unconventional methods. A friend of Philippe’s warns him that Driss served six months in prison for robbery. Philippe disregards it. He does not care about Driss’ past, and he will not fire him as long as the job gets done properly. The reason is plain: Driss is the only one who does not treat Philippe with pity.
Sometimes you have to reach into someone else’s world to find out what’s missing in your own.
Philippe explains that his wife died without bearing children. Driss helps him organize his private life, though he has his own trouble with Philippe’s adopted daughter, Elisa. Along the way Driss discovers modern art and opera, and starts painting. For Philippe’s birthday, a private classical music concert is performed in his living room.
The supporting cast fills out the household: Anne Le Ny as Yvonne, Audrey Fleurot as Magalie, Clotilde Mollet as Marcelle, Alba Gaïa Bellugi as Elisa, and Grégoire Oestermann as Antoine.
The Numbers Behind the Film
| Milestone | Detail |
|---|---|
| French release | 2 November 2011 |
| Nine weeks after release | Second highest-grossing French film in France, after “Welcome to the Sticks” (2008) |
| Fnac poll | Voted cultural event of 2011 in France, 52% of votes |
| Worldwide tickets | 51.5 million, most-viewed French film in the world until “Lucy” eclipsed it in 2014 |
| César Awards | Best Actor win for Sy; seven further nominations, including Best Actor for Cluzet |
| Profits | 5% donated to Simon de Cyrène, an association that helps paralyzed people |
In the UK, Ireland, and Scandinavia, the film was released as “Untouchable.”
Our Verdict
The Intouchables earns its sentiment because it refuses to make Philippe an object of pity. Driss is the one character who never does, and that is the whole engine of the film. Sy’s César win for Best Actor is the award that matters here; his Driss carries the comedy without turning the role into a joke. Cluzet has the harder job, playing a man whose body is a fixed fact, and he holds the center.
The 51.5 million tickets are not proof of quality on their own. They are proof of reach, and the Fnac poll result says the same thing in a different register: this was the film France talked about in 2011. What holds up is smaller than the numbers. Two men who should never have met, one signing a document he does not want, one hiring a man he was warned against. The film knows the friendship is the story, not the Maserati.
The 5% profit donation to Simon de Cyrène is the detail that keeps the whole thing honest. A film about caring for a paralyzed man put money behind the claim.
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