Jutting
out of the desert outside of Marrakesh, Fobe House looks like it could be the
setting of a Chanel commercial directed by Bruce Weber. The white ultra-modern
structures are not the sort of home you would forget. Yet, supposedly an amnesiac
accident survivor has done just that, but the last thing her supposed husband
wants is for her to recover her memory in Dimitri de Clerq’s You Go to My
Head, which opens today in New York.
Dafne’s
lover died in the land rover mishap and the desert would have finished her off
too, if Jake hadn’t come along in the nick of time. She is dangerously
dehydrated and suffering from shock-induced amnesia, but her physical strength
will soon rebound. Jake initially acts out of compassion, but when the doctor presumes
she is his wife, he just sort of goes with it. He even has a space for her to
fill, left vacant by his wife Kitty, who apparently vanished several years ago.
Jake
is an attentive nurse and also pretty good at crafting cover stories.
Fortunately, Kitty’s clothes fit Dafne perfectly, when she choses to wear them.
Nevertheless, she will inevitably start to question her real identity, because
that is what happens in amnesia movies.
You
Go to My Head is
sort of a psychological thriller and sort of a romance, inhabiting the rarely
trodden terrain between the two genres. De Clerq goes for mood and suggestiveness
more than outright suspense, but that turns out to be a nice change of pace. Frankly,
it is hard to resist any film that showcases the striking Fobe House (designed
by Jake in the film and Guilhem Eustache in real life) and features two
late-career tracks from Chet Baker: “I’m a Fool to Love You,” and the titular
Coots-Gillespie standard. In fact, the latter’s lyrics are aptly suited to de
Clerq’s dreamy and seductive vibe: “you go to my head/and you linger like a
haunting refrain/And I find you spinning round in my brain/Like the bubbles in
a glass of champagne.”
Delfine
Bafort is convincingly conflicted and disoriented as Dafne/Kitty, and she
develops some intriguing chemistry with Svetozar Cvetkovic, who really is
terrific as Jake. Arguably, he makes some rather rash and problematic
decisions, but he really conveys the pain and acutely human impulses that
drives them.
Throughout
the film, de Clerq masterfully controls the atmosphere and vibe, while cinematographer
Stijn Grupping has a field day shooting Fobe House and the surrounding desert.
Thanks to him and Baker, YGTMH looks and sounds fantastic. The two leads
also playoff each other in smart and subtle ways. Highly recommended, You Go
to My Head opens today (2/14) in New York, at the Quad Cinema.
