Film Review: EIFFEL (2021): A Romantic Story About How The Eiffel Tower Came to Be

Eiffel Review

Eiffel (2021) Film Review, a movie directed by Martin Bourboulon, written by Caroline Bongrand, Thomas Bidegain and Natalie Carter and starring Romain Duris, Emma Mackey, Pierre Deladonchamps, Armande Boulanger, Bruno Raffaelli and Philippe Herisson.

A love story centered around the construction of the Eiffel Tower, director Martin Bourboulon’s film, Eiffel, is intriguing from the moment it begins. However, it must be said that for viewers seeking historical accuracy, the creative aspects of the movie will certainly get in the way of the actual facts that are distorted in order to bring a romantic story between two forbidden lovers to life. Nevertheless, if you don’t look too closely, this film is emotionally involving whether you are seeking a glimpse of history or steamy romance.

Romain Duris portrays Gustave Eiffel, the man who fought against the odds to realize his dream of the Eiffel Tower becoming a reality. As the film opens, his daughter Claire (Armande Boulanger) informs him that she wants to get married instead of choosing a field of study to concentrate on. This would be fine except Claire already has the man of her dreams lined up and is ready to jump right into marriage. Gustave is simply not ready for this yet.

We meet a woman named Adrienne Bourges who is played by Emma Mackey in a star-making performance. Mackey was seen in a pivotal role in this year’s Death on the Nile. These two recent roles Mackey has played are going to be career-defining for the actress who is not traditionally glamorous but is nevertheless gorgeous. Mackey is able to add a considerable amount of depth to her character in close ups with or without dialogue. Her fine eye contact and amazing screen presence are undeniably fantastic and although Duris is effective in his solid performance, without Mackey, the movie wouldn’t work as well as it does.

Eiffel tells a touching romantic story about Gustave and Adrienne. Since the movie goes back and forth in time, there are plot points which are revealed that help to shed light on the reasons these two characters interact as they do. They have a romantic past but as the years progressed, they became estranged. Adrienne is married in the current story line but the past and present will be interwoven rather effectively as the film progresses.

The core of Eiffel is about how Gustave needed funding to complete his dream of seeing the construction of the Eiffel Tower and how he had to deal with situations such as being doubted by those in power. Gustave also needed to keep his construction staff workers financially satisfied to finish work on the Eiffel Tower which would become one of the most notable landmarks and tourist attractions of all-time.

This film is partly set around the time of the 1889 Paris World Fair but fluctuates between the days where Gustave and Adrienne were almost married and the time where they re-encounter one another and must deal with their past feelings for each other despite Adrienne’s current marriage. I’m tempted to reveal what plot points worked for me the best but, to avoid spoilers, I’ll simply say the current love story was more intriguing than the past tale of how the lovers created a romance which was frowned upon by Adrienne’s wealthy father.

There are a number of sweet scenes here and a few stand out especially the one where these lovers initially connect at a party. Eiffel gets heavy handed with complex plot twists about the reasons why Adrienne and Gustave broke up and why they still feel a connection to each other even after several years have passed. Duris and Mackey set the screen ablaze with their passionate love scenes that are quite satisfyingly done. These sequences help develop the characters and the movie is certainly romantic enough to please those who like their love stories to be both sophisticated and delicate.

Eiffel gets the job done for history fans in a few respects but caters more to those looking for a love story. There’s enough backstory on the construction of the Eiffel Tower to keep viewers invested in the plot although we pretty much know where the movie will end up going in that particular regard.

It is said at the picture’s conclusion that the “A” in Adrienne’s name was symbolic of the shape of the Eiffel Tower. That may just be clever screenwriting but if you don’t know the facts behind the story line, don’t look them up online if you plan on seeing the movie. It’s nice to think that all of Gustave’s passion for Adrienne went into constructing the landmark he designed whether Adrienne existed or not. Eiffel is a good movie with a lot of heart and it’s a nicely made film. Even if it seems a bit too traditional at times, the movie will keep its targeted audience nevertheless satisfied.

Rating: 7/10

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