Written by Belle McIntyre

How is it that the French are so adept at filming so much casual sex so tantalizingly and beautifully without slipping into the realm of prurience or unsavory fetishism. A great example of this is the most recent film from Jacques Audiard. It has everything to do with context and where the characters are in life. Based on three short stories by Adrian Tomine, the three main characters are connected by only the flimsiest of serendipities. It has more to do with the neighborhood, hence the title in French, Les Olympiades, refers to the name of the project when it was built. The opening scene is a drone shot of the 13th District is made up of blocky high-rise apartment buildings filled with a diverse population of young working, immigrant, single people, artists, and students.

Act One

Emilie (Lucie Zhang) is a lively 20-something Asian woman who works in a call center and lives rent-free in her elderly grandmother’s apartment. Grandma is in a nursing home. Camille (Makita Samba), a handsome Black professor turns up at her door in response to an ad for a roommate. Her initial negative reaction to having a man as a roommate lasts little longer than a nanosecond. And before the interview is over they have consummated a “roommate with benefits” situation which works really well… until it doesn’t. When Camille brings home another woman who is sleeping with him, all bets are off with Emilie. Things are said. Feelings fly. Camille decamps.

Act Two

There is no seque to the introduction of Nora (Noémie Merlant), a 30-ish white woman who has moved to Paris to finish getting her degree. Slightly older than her classmates and significantly less savvy, she awkwardly fails to fit in and inspires some mean girl nastiness and public humiliation which postpones her dream of the high road of academia. How she veers off course is so unlikely and bizarre it is better witnessed on screen than with words. That story could easily stand alone. And then there is the improbable moment when Nora steps into a real estate office for a job interview. Camille, having temporarily given up his pursuit of his doctoral degree, is “sitting in” for his friend who owns the company. Nora’ has experience and knows what she is doing. She is immediately hired. It took a lot longer than the first interview with Emilie, but inevitably these two attractive single co-workers end up hooked up having lots of enthusiastic and satisfying sex.

Act Three

Although the names and faces remain the same act three is a new beginning for Camille and Emilie. There are wonderful scenes outside of the narrative which inspire a level of fondness for the various characters. The choice to film in black and white eliminates superficial visual distractions and allows for rhapturous and fluid camerawork to deliver sublime scenes of beautiful bodies engaged in giving and receiving pleasure. There is a lot to enjoy with this appealing and accomplished cast, a convoluted plot and superb cinematography.