Riviera Revenge (N’avoue jamais) asks: what do you do when you discover a decades-old betrayal that feels as fresh as yesterday? For 70-something François, the answer is simple: revenge. Riviera Revenge uses comedy to explore what happens when decades-old betrayals demand immediate revenge.
WE HAVE SOME TICKETS TO GIVE AWAY – GO TO OUR FACEBOOK AND INSTAGRAM TO ENTER
François (André Dussolier (A Very Long Engagement, Tell No One, Black Box (you may recognise his voice as the narrator from Amélie)) is a retired military general, who discovers that Annie (Sabine Azéma, Mélo, Private Fears in Public Places, A Sunday in the Country), his wife of 50 years, cheated on him 40 years ago with a friend, Boris (Thierry Lhermitte, Le Dîner de Cons, Santa Claus is a Stinker, Men on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown). For Annie, it’s old news, but for François who is just discovering it, it’s something he has to avenge even all these decades on. François intends to “smash Boris’ face in” but at his age, he has his work cut out for him.
In the film’s press kit, Ivan Calbérac, who wrote and directed Riviera Revenge, explains that the film was inspired by a true story, that of a 92 year old Sicilian man who discovered love letters written to his wife some 70 years earlier. He wasn’t able to forgive her for her adultery, even though it was so long ago, and asked for and was granted divorce making him the oldest person to get a divorce in Italy. The couple in Riviera Revenge aren’t as old as the Sicilian couple as Calbérac understood it would be harder to find a 90 year old actor. Unlike his past 3 films, including The Tasting, Riviera Revenge was not an adaptation of one of Calbérac’s own plays. He wrote this specifically for cinema.
The character development, particularly François’ military background, is well set up from the start of the film. Throughout the film we see that this military man who seems so strict and strong has a heart, one that has been broken by the discovery of his wife’s betrayal, no matter how long ago it was. Annie on the other hand is a free spirit, dismissing the affair completely as so long ago, reading Madame Bovary in bed. She finds her husband’s jealousy attractive, rather than trying to console him for something which for her is so clearly in the past, but for him so much in the present. Boris is not as one-dimensional as he may seem at first glance, with Lhermitte bringing unexpected depth to what could have been a simple ‘other man’ archetype.
The casting proves crucial to making these complex dynamics believable. Actors Sabine Azéma and André Dussolier have known each other since they were teens and have appeared in many films together including Love Unto Death (L’amour à mort) (1984), Mélo (1986), Tanguy (2001) and before Riviera Revenge, most recently in Wild Grass (Les herbes folles) in 2009. Together with Thierry Lhermitte, all three actors had excellent screen chemistry (good and bad). Beyond the veteran cast’s chemistry, the film succeeds because it doesn’t treat age as either a punchline or a limitation
The visual approach is refreshingly understated, letting the performances breathe rather than relying on flashy camera work. The film moves at a deliberately measured pace that mirrors its older protagonists – balancing François’s immediate fury with quieter moments that reveal the deeper emotional stakes.
The film isn’t purely comedy though, it’s also got some heart. There’s a bittersweet melancholy underlying even the film’s funniest moments, as if acknowledging that discovering betrayal – no matter how old – cuts just as deep. François needs to decide whether he can let the past go. Their 50-year marriage history means the betrayal cuts deeper but also that throwing it away seems more tragic. Their adult children process the idea of their parents potentially divorcing. Yet despite these deeper currents, Calbérac never loses sight of the comedy at the film’s heart.
Riviera Revenge is an entertaining French comedy with a wonderful cast, and an easy watch. From awkward romances formed around wine (The Tasting) to revenge plots on the French Riviera (Riviera Revenge) Ivan Calbérac has a knack for writing wonderful stories about awkward characters fumbling through matters of the heart.
But what sets this film apart is how, in an era where comedies often choose between broad laughs or emotional depth, Riviera Revenge demonstrates that the best films can deliver both. Calbérac understands that the heart wants what it wants, regardless of age, and that discovering betrayal can be just as painful whether it happened yesterday or 40 years ago.
3.5 CROISSANTS
Matilda Marseillaise watched a screener of the film.
Riviera Revenge will be in Australian cinemas from Thursday 26 June 2025. Potential Films, the Australian distributor of Riviera Revenge has kindly given us several double and Buy one get one free passes to give to our readers. To enter, find our competition posts on Facebook and Instagram.
