THE ESCORT

Directed by Michael Blanc. Starring Daniel Auteuil

A Frenchman in the throes of severe male menopause who ends up happily employed as a prostitute for rich, snotty, powerful women... it sounds like a bad misogynistic joke, but believe it or not, The Escort has enough laddish charm and sheer good nature to more than offset any potential offence.

Pierre (Auteuil) is an initially likable if deeply pathetic Frenchman wandering semi-aimlessly around London on a somewhat sad mission to ‘find himself’ – he’s walked out on his wife and son, and he’s in the process of writing a novel which he hasn’t quite got round to starting. A run-in with a Soho pimp brings generous-hearted gigolo Tom (Townsend) to the rescue: Tom, a male variant on the age-old cinematic ‘happy hooker’, offers our hero employment as a purveyor of sandwiches by day and hardcore action by night.

Increasingly drawn to the decadent upper-classes of the London scene, Pierre soon finds himself living miles beyond his means and alienating all those around him. His likability begins to undergo a sharp downturn when he takes to using vast quantities of coke, the eternal drug of choice for self-obsessed egomaniacs with delusions of interestingness – and from this point on, he becomes seedier in demeanour by the second.

Despite the ostensibly tragic nature of the subject matter, The Escort is unerringly light-hearted and comical, to the point where its cheerfully unashamed sexism can just about be excused. The blithering upper-class twits who form the core of Pierre’s clientele are a memorable (if unsightly) parade indeed, and the film derives much comic mileage from the interplay between Auteuil and the increasingly impressive Townsend.

Auteuil treads an expert tightrope between charm and smarm throughout, in a film that practically defines the term ‘tongue in cheek’ – and though miles removed

from anything approaching masterpiece status, The Escort is as good a dark comedy as could be hoped. Worthwhile. [TB]