Review
Eiffel is a French romantic film written by Caroline Bongrand and directed by Martin Bourboulon which tells the story of how Gustave Eiffel was inspired to build the Eiffel Tower in homage to his lost love, Adrienne Bourges. While the romance story is completely fabricated, the two leading actors, Romain Duris and Emma Mackey, portray the lovers beautifully.
Fresh from his success of creating the iron framework to support the Statue of Liberty, Gustave Eiffel (Romain Duris) is contemplating his next project but rebuffs the idea of building a tower for the 1889 World Fair when it is suggested by two of his employees. Instead, Eiffel has an idea to build a metro transit system for Paris and contacts an old friend, Antoine de Restac (Pierre Deladonchamps), to help publicise it. However, Eiffel is astounded with he discovers Antoine is married to Adrienne Bourges (Emma Mackey), a woman he once planned on marrying. Eiffel shocks everyone by suddenly dropping the idea for the metro in favour of a tower that will be 300 metres high.
As Eiffel draws up the plans for the tower, he flashes back twenty years to the time he first met Adrienne and remembers the passionate affair they had before Adrienne abruptly disappeared. When Eiffel wins the World Fair competition, Adrienne is amongst the guests at the garden party and he entreats her to meet him at a cheap hotel but she refuses. However, when Adrienne learns her husband is using his position as a journalist to create bad publicity for the tower, she changes her mind about meeting Eiffel and tells him what her husband is doing. The two resume their love affair when Adrienne explains why she disappeared all those years ago. Forbidden to marry him by her snobbish parents, a pregnant Adrienne attempted to run away but suffered a terrible accident which claimed the life of her unborn child and almost killed her.
When Antoine learns of the affair, he threatens to destroy Eiffel’s reputation so the tower will never be completed unless Adrienne leaves Paris with him. For the sake of Eiffel’s work, Adrienne chooses her husband. A heartbroken Eiffel rallies his workers together and manages to finish the tower in time for the World Fair. The tower is regarded as a masterpiece of ingenuity and it soon becomes apparent it is in the shape of a letter A for Adrienne.
While it is true Gustave Eiffel did fall in love with Adrienne Bourges in his younger days, the idea that she was his one true love is a complete fabrication and she was certainly never the inspiration for the Eiffel Tower. Having said that the film is beautifully shot, particularly those scenes where our lovers are standing on the newly completed first level against a glorious Parisian backdrop. We do get glimpses into Eiffel’s genius as an engineer but they are few and far between which is a pity.
