The Book vs. The Movie: Who Did L’Amour Ouf Better?

L’Amour Ouf began as a novel by Neville Thompson, first published in 1997 under the title Jackie Loves Johnser OK?. The French translation, L’Amour Ouf, was released in 2000 by Éditions Robert Laffont. The story captivated readers with its intense portrayal of love and turmoil set against the backdrop of Dublin’s gritty neighborhoods. In 2024, director Gilles Lellouche brought this compelling narrative to the silver screen with his adaptation, also titled L’Amour Ouf. The film premiered at the Cannes Film Festival on May 23, 2024, and was subsequently released in French cinemas on October 16, 2024. Starring François Civil and Adèle Exarchopoulos, the movie reimagines the original story, transplanting the setting to 1980s Northern France.

My sister has a t’shirt that says “the book did it better” and yeah, this wasn’t one of those times. I didn’t love L’Amour Ouf the movie, but after reading the book, I found myself wishing I could go back to just tolerating it.

Review

I stumbled across an interview with the cast where they were asked if they had read the book. Turns out, L’Amour Ouf was based on a novel published in 2000 by Neville Thompson. The wild part? None of the cast had read it except for the actor playing young Clautaire. And honestly, I wish I could say the same because the book just left me confused and frustrated.

“Jackie was a nice girl, but I got bored of her.” — Johnser, reflecting on how a 15-year-old saying “no” was too much effort for an 18-year-old man-child to handle.

Let’s Talk About Clautaire… Or John

So, in the movie, he’s Clautaire. Not the best name, but it kind of works—there’s a rough edge to it. The book? Oh no, in the book, he’s John Kimble Kiely, nicknamed Johnser. Yes, Johnser. Why? Well, his parents recycled the name from an older brother who died at birth. Except oops—turns out it wasn’t John who died, it was Jimmy. So now there are two Johns in the family, and poor Johnser gets the worst nickname ever.

Character-wise, Johnser is supposed to be this scrappy, hard-luck guy from a massive family trying to make sense of his chaotic life. But instead of being relatable, he’s just… bleak. He’s defined by tragedy, bad decisions, and the kind of self-pity that makes you want to yell, Get it together!

Oh, and the siblings. This man grew up with 12 siblings. TWELVE. In three rooms. I get that big families were more common back in the day, but the sheer logistics? Six of them died as babies, which is tragic, but the book barely pauses to acknowledge it.

“What am I supposed to do with a girl?” — Johnser’s response to his daughter’s birth

The movie ties things up in a way that’s at least somewhat satisfying. Clauter and Jackie end up stable, even if it’s not perfect. But the book? Chaos. Jackie marries someone else, has Johnser’s baby in secret, and somehow still manages to get tangled back up in his disaster of a life.

Jackie: Not the Heroine You Want

Jackie in the movie is… okay. She’s flawed, but you can see why she’d be drawn to Clautaire. Book Jackie? A mess. And not in a way that makes you root for her. She’s selfish, indecisive, and clings to Johnser like her life depends on it, even when it’s clear he’s a pale shadow of the guy the movie tried to sell us.