Somewhere in working-class France lives Arnaud Labrède (Kévin Azaïs), a wayward young man who works as a carpenter, along with his brother (Antoine Laurent), who inherited the company from their late father, with their first solo assignment being to make him a casket after they realize that they may not be able to afford all of the luxuries associated with death. Arnaud doesn’t quite know where he wants to head in life, but he has a vague desire to join the military, mostly informed by the perpetual presence of army recruiters in his small town. It’s on one of their exhibition days that Arnaud meets the person who he doesn’t realize will change his life. He is thrown into the ring with Madeleine (Adèle Haenel), a feisty young woman who as immense aspirations to become a soldier, going so far as to put herself through physical, mental and emotional torture as a means of preparing herself for the intimidating world awaiting her, if she chooses this as a vocation. It doesn’t help that the duo come into contact again after their fight ends in a truly unexpected manner, when Arnaud and his brother are hired to build a shed for a suburban couple, who just happen to be Madeleine’s long-suffering parents, who are at their wit’s ends at how to deal with a young woman who seems to be composed entirely out of rebellion. The pair start becoming close friends, and seem to be developing feelings for one another – at least Arnaud is, as he sacrifices a steady job to accompany Madeleine to a summer boot camp, where they will endure many of the challenges faced by soldiers. They grow closer during this time, especially when it becomes clear neither of them actually want to be there – it results in a growing romance that reaches a crescendo once they decide to escape the confines of the camp, and find themselves getting to know each other even more along the way.

If there was ever an example of great performances being the salvation in a truly mediocre film, it would take the form of those populating Love at First Fight (French: Les Combattants), the charming but otherwise middling romantic comedy by Thomas Cailley, who is making his directorial debut with this film. The kind of film that seems to work better in theory than execution, but still has some very clear charms that make it somewhat worthwhile, even if only as a bit of endearing escapism, Love at First Fight isn’t the strongest effort, and its perhaps the kind of film that doesn’t quite earn its exceptional leads, who are far better than this film deserved. An audacious premise should be enough to convince us that this film is a lot better than it is, but through some heavy-handed filmmaking, and a genuinely scattershot approach to promising material, Cailley lets much of the potential slip away, with only some components managing to scrape together the bare minimum to create something that is at least marginally worthwhile. The embodiment of a diverting film that mostly operates as an effervescent combination of romance and comedy, with some moments of serious emotional heft, Love at First Fight had a great deal of promise, very little actually being delivered upon in the final product, which is more indicative of the film striving to be something more than it was actually capable of, instead of staying within its preordained path, which might’ve resulted in something far more coherent, with a more solid base and a genuinely heartfelt approach to a story that was positively yearning for more restraint, and a less overwrought method of execution. Yet, even at its lowest point, this film is still incredibly entertaining, and while it may be asking for so much more, it still serves as worthwhile in its own specific way, which may be enough if we’re willing to suspend disbelief.

Quite simply, without the two lead performances, there’s very little doubt that Love at First Fight would’ve imploded upon impact, since nothing really else of note can be found in this film that salvages a weak story, especially when so much of what makes this film works are the characters. Naturally, the most notable reason anyone might seek out this film is due to the presence of Adèle Haenel, who is rapidly becoming one of the most acclaimed young actresses working today. Her striking beauty, combined with her incredible wit and ability to play absolutely any part with nothing other than the sheer conviction of someone who adores her craft, has made her an instantly enduring figure that is well on her way to defining a generation of performers. Love at First Fight may not be her best performance, but it is one (along with Katell Quillévéré’s wonderful Suzanne a year before) that aided her in breaking through as a major talent, after a few years of solid work. It’s not difficult to see exactly why this film was successful, since it is almost entirely built on her performance, which is a deft combination of hilariously offbeat, and deeply melancholic, with the character of Madeleine being a truly complex construction, one that may actually have warranted a much stronger film. Part of this may be due to the fact that Haenel does take up a significant portion of the screen, since she is playing a very strong character, leaving her co-star Kévin Azaïs to scramble for attention as well. However, while he may not be nearly as good or memorable as Haenel, Azaïs does hold his own, and delivers a spirited performance that feels so much more authentic than many similarly-conceived characters. The polar opposite of Madeleine, Arnaud is a quiet, reserved young man who embodies the spirit of doing anything for love – and when they’re across from each other, Azaïs and Haenel demonstrate an incredible chemistry that sells absolutely every moment of the film, and elevates it far beyond the paltry material it was working from.

To its credit,  Love at First Fight does have something of a unique premise – focusing on a love story set to the backdrop of military training does carry some degree of merit, since we don’t normally see romantic comedies employ such themes. The film derives a lot of humour based on the inexperience of the two main characters, who may masquerade as cunning, incredibly skilled soldiers-in-training, but are in actuality barely adults, having just come out of adolescence, and are frantically searching for some guidance. As we see throughout the film, both Madeleine and Arnaud aren’t quite sure of who they want to be, both choosing the seemingly easy option of joining the military, where they think a few years of combat (or at least the anticipation of it) may give them some direction. This loosely-structured premise lends the film some emotional gravitas, which does work well alongside the upbeat comedy and soaring romance to make for something quite entertaining. However, its how the film eventually squanders this premise through hammering on a few key points for too long, that causes it to become something of an issue, since there isn’t much going on beyond this premise, which would normally be relegated to a short film, where it may have had more impact. This is a major problem with Love at First Fight, since it stretches an endearing but otherwise flimsy premise over a span of time that simply wasn’t justified. It results in a very strong first act, where the humour is biting and the romance (or rather, the implication of it) was adorable – but by the end of the film, we’re more exhausted than delighted, since the film has repeated the same beats many times over, creating fatigue in the exact kind of narrative that normally thrives on being incredibly original.

The ending of the film is perhaps the moment that consolidates Love at First Fight as a flawed film, since its heavy-handed nature (where it attempts to insert an entire dramatic subplot into two minutes) betrays the otherwise lighthearted, upbeat tone of the preceding hour and a half, meaning that this film has a very promising start, which is maintained as long as it has some direction, before steadily declining into an array of repetitive scenes that don’t serve much purpose other than continuously stating the obvious, which becomes tiring. Love at First Fight is certainly not a bad film, but rather one that is hopelessly middling, never quite reaching the full potential it promised at the outset. It is fortunately saved by strong performances given by its two leads, and is yet another chance to see the enchanting Adèle Haenel proving her mettle as an effortlessly gifted young performer who has gradually carved out a magnificent niche in the industry, which has slowly started to embrace her as the immense talent she is – and her work alongside an equally-gifted Kévin Azaïs allows this film to be at least worth seeking out for those interested in a solid but predictable romantic comedy with some very serious thematic leanings. For others, Love at First Fight may not provide the best portrait of what either comedy or romance is when channelled through French cinema – but its heartfulness and willingness to give credit to the viewer is enough to compensate for its overt flaws, which may not bring it down entirely, but prevents it from reaching the greatness it seemed to be grasping at. It’s a solid effort, but not one that should be actively pursued, since there are better ways to spend this time, even if there are some moments here that are absolutely delightful, and are yearning to be a part of something slightly more coherent and interesting.