Love Me if You Dare (French: Jeux d'enfants, lit. "Children's Games") is a 2003 French romantic dramedy directed by Yann Samuel. It debuted at the 2003 Telluride film festival ahead of theatrical releases in France and Belgium later that year.
It is about two best friends, Julien (Guillaume Canet) and Sophie (Marion Cotillard), who have maintained a long-running game of dares since childhood. They pass a tin box between them upon the completion of each dare. Their immaturity, impetuousness, and refusal to admit their love cause much strife in their personal lives as the dares get more and more outlandish, culminating in a decade-long separation. But this doesn't mean that the game or their mutual feelings are over...
Not to be confused with the Chinese series of the same name.
Tropes:
- All of the Other Reindeer: Sophie is bullied for being a Polish immigrant. Her attachment to Julien is because he was her Only Friend in childhood.
- Ambiguous Ending: The film seemingly ends with our two young lovers jumping into wet concrete, only we then get a scene where they've grown old together. Given that the film begins with their tin partially buried in concrete, the former might have been what actually happened, but it's unclear.
- Belligerent Sexual Tension: Sophie and Julien like each other for sure, but they're both too proud to admit it, resulting in them frequently lashing out and hurting each other.
- Better than Sex: Julien's elated that he's reunited with Sophie and the game is back on. His monologue calls it better than drugs, sex, sex symbols, and various pop culture things:Julien: Sophie was back in the game! Pure, raw, explosive pleasure! Better than drugs, better than smack! Better than a dope-coke-crack-fix-shit-shoot-sniff-ganja-marijuana-blotter-acid-ecstasy! Better than sex, head, 69, orgies, masturbation, tantrism, Kama Sutra or Thai doggy-style! Better than banana milkshakes! Better than George Lucas's trilogy, 'The Muppets' and 2001! Better than EmmaPeel, Marilyn, Lara Croft and Cindy Crawford's beauty mark! Better than the B-side to Abbey Road, Jimi Hendrix and the first man on the moon! Space Mountain, Santa Claus, Bill Gates' fortune, the Dalai Lama, Lazarus raised from the dead! Schwarzenegger's testosterone shots, Pam Anderson's lips! Woodstock, raves... Better than Sade, Rimbaud, Morrison and Castaneda! Better than freedom, better than life!
- Book Ends: Julien's voiceovers at the beginning and end of the film, discussing the game and Sophie, are similar:8-year-old Julien: This game started with a pretty house. A pretty bus with no driver. A pretty box... and a pretty girl.
Adult Julien: To win this game you need a pretty box, a pretty girl and to hell with the rest! - Childhood Friend Romance: The lead couple grew up as kids together, sleeping together in the same bed well into their teenage years. They continue acting out their Belligerent Sexual Tension into adulthood.
- Interclass Friendship: Sophie's parents are poor, Julien's are rich — but an unlikely friendship and later love blossoms between them.
- Lady in Red: Discussed by Sophie when she talks about the red dress she put on in a climactic scene to look pretty for Julien:Sophie: Like my dress? I hesitated. Nabbed it off my sister. She has another red one, like a thermonuclear bombshell... That's the one I should've worn.
- Together in Death: Since our Star-Crossed Lovers can only be together on a dare, they end up getting themselves buried in concrete. This way they can share a kiss that will last forever while also giving you nightmares forever. It's hard to say how aware they are of the consequences of what they do, though.
