Some movies cross every language barrier without trying. The Intouchables, the 2011 French film directed by Eric Toledano and Olivier Nakache, sold over 51 million tickets worldwide and became the highest-grossing foreign-language film in history at the time. It is based on the real friendship between Philippe Pozzo di Borgo, a wealthy quadriplegic aristocrat, and Abdel Sellou, the young man from the projects he hired as a caretaker. What made it land wasn’t the premise. It was the chemistry between two people who had absolutely no reason to get along.
Francois Cluzet plays Philippe, a man paralyzed from the neck down after a paragliding accident, still sharp and full of life but slowly suffocating inside the careful, quiet world people have built around his condition. Omar Sy plays Driss, broke, recently out of jail, and completely unimpressed by any of it. Their story is not a tale of one man saving another. It is messier and more honest than that, just two people stuck in very different kinds of traps, stumbling into a friendship that neither of them planned for.
An Unlikely Job Interview
Driss Bassari is a guy full of energy and drive, even though he’s always been broke. One day, Driss shows up to interview for a caregiver position with a man named Philippe (Francois Cluzet), a paraplegic who also happens to be filthy rich. Unlike the other candidates, though, Driss isn’t actually there to get the job. He just needs Philippe’s signature as proof he attended the interview so he can collect government assistance. Midway through the interview, Driss gets into a full-on debate with Philippe over music, and on top of that, he tries to flirt with Philippe’s attractive assistant, Magalie (Audrey Fleurot).
Philippe is thoroughly annoyed by the whole thing and nearly kicks him out, but in the end he agrees to sign the paperwork the next day. On his way out, Driss quietly swipes one of Philippe’s decorative eggs and heads home to his tiny, cramped house where he lives with a bunch of younger siblings. His mom, Fatou (Salimata Kamate), has just gotten back from work and the moment she sees him, she blows up. Driss has been off the radar for six months without a single word, and on top of that, he’s still unemployed. Fed up with her oldest kid being completely unreliable, she kicks him out.
The next morning, Driss goes back to Philippe’s mansion to pick up the signed letter, but he’s caught off guard by what the head nurse, Yvonne (Anne Le Ny), tells him. Apparently caretakers keep quitting left and right. None of them last more than two weeks, even though the job comes with a really comfortable setup with a nice room, great food, the works, but the hours are brutal at 24/7. Then, out of nowhere, Philippe decides to hire Driss on a one-month trial. Driss has nothing else going on, he’s been kicked out of his own house, so he takes it. Just like that, his first day as Philippe’s caretaker begins.
That first day is a disaster. Driss falls asleep while giving Philippe a massage. He washes Philippe’s feet with shampoo. He deliberately pours hot water on Philippe’s legs, which Philippe can’t feel anyway because of the paralysis. And then comes the moment he’s asked to clean Philippe’s backside. Driss completely loses it. He flat-out refuses and swears on his life he will never, ever do something like that, and to him it is genuinely disgusting. That job gets handed off to someone else, and Driss moves on to the rest of his duties.
The next day, Driss has to drive Philippe to an art gallery. He refuses to take the van that looks like an ambulance and picks a much flashier car instead. At the gallery, Driss is genuinely baffled watching Philippe stare at one abstract painting for a solid hour. To Driss, it looks like a kid threw paint at a canvas. And yet Philippe decides he wants to buy it, for 41,000 euros. Driss is stunned, but hey, the man’s loaded, so there’s nothing to say.
Not long after, one of Philippe’s colleagues pulls him aside to warn him about Driss. Turns out Driss just got out of jail six months ago for theft, and the guy has a reputation for being rough and reckless. But Philippe pushes back, saying Driss isn’t as bad as people think, that he’s actually been a really good caretaker, and that one of his best qualities is his ability to make people laugh when they least expect it. The next day, Driss stumbles onto a secret. Philippe has been writing letters to a woman named Eleonore (Dorothee Briere). From that point on, Driss can’t stop wondering what exactly is going on between them.
Midnight Drive Through Paris
Some time later, Driss finds Philippe struggling to breathe and running a fever, side effects from his medication, and he needs fresh air. Even though Driss is half asleep, he immediately wheels Philippe outside. Before long, Driss is taking him on a tour around Paris to catch the city before sunrise. Along the way, Driss keeps offering Philippe hits from his weed, swearing it’ll help with the pain. Eventually, Driss asks what’s been bugging him. How does Philippe even have a romantic relationship when he’s paralyzed from the neck down?
Philippe explains that even though his body is numb, he can still feel intimacy and arousal through his ears—through words, through voice. He then opens up about his late wife, Alice. He describes her as an incredibly kind woman, and says their 25 years of marriage were genuinely happy. But Alice died from complications during a miscarriage and lost too much blood. After that, Philippe adopted a daughter named Elisa (Alba Gaia Bellugi). He tells Driss that the illness isn’t what breaks him. What really kills him is that Alice is gone. He also mentions that despite the expensive treatments he keeps up with, doctors only expect him to live to about 70.
After that warm, intimate conversation, Philippe officially makes Driss his full-time caretaker, since he’d passed the trial. But in the same breath, Philippe asks him to return the decorative egg that Alice gave him, the one Driss stole. Turns out Philippe has known about Driss’s little habit of pocketing things around the house. Driss plays dumb, claims he has no idea what Philippe’s talking about, while internally realizing he can’t even remember where he put it. The next day, Driss picks up his younger brother Adama (Cyril Mendy) from school but makes a detour to the police station first, because Adama got caught up in a weed case. Fortunately, he’s released since he’s still a minor.
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Back at Philippe’s place, Driss catches Philippe dictating a love poem to Eleonore with Magalie’s help. Driss ribs him mercilessly. The poem is nothing but cheesy lines. But then Driss is floored to find out that Philippe and Eleonore have been dating for six months and have never once met in person. Annoyed by how stuck they are, Driss grabs Eleonore’s number from the letter and practically forces Philippe to call her right then and there.
Philippe does, and also sends her a photo of himself. A while later, they’re at the opera together. Driss nudges Philippe out of his insecurity, telling him he doesn’t need to feel bad about his physical limitations. These days, women go for rich guys way before they go for pretty ones. It’s one of those small moments, but it brings the two of them closer. Days go by, and one day Driss loses his temper when Elisa, Philippe’s daughter, is rude to him.
But it turns out she’s like that with everyone in the house, all the staff. Driss keeps going to Philippe asking permission to smack some sense into her, but Philippe won’t allow it. He’s too soft on her. Driss storms off to his room, fuming. Not long after, he’s spotted painting his own abstract piece, the same kind he used to think was ridiculous. Meanwhile, Philippe starts actually standing up to Elisa, telling her to treat people with respect. Something about all of it starts to quietly change Driss, and taking care of Philippe has become something he looks forward to. The two of them keep getting closer.
The Birthday Party
Then comes Philippe’s birthday. Before the party, Philippe tells Driss he’s sick of how his family acts around him, like he’s already on his deathbed. It’s another hint at how much more comfortable Philippe feels with Driss, who treats him like a person, not a patient. The party itself is a proper event, with Philippe hiring a full orchestra. But while everyone else is celebrating, Driss notices Elisa locked in her room, crying. He goes to check on her and finds out her boyfriend, Bastian (Thomas Soliveres), just broke up with her. She begs Driss to talk to Bastian. He says no, since it’s none of his business. But when she offers to pay him, he folds.
Meanwhile, on the other side of the party, Philippe is showing off the abstract painting Driss made to a friend, trying to sell it for 11,000 euros. Driss then does something no one expects. He gets everyone on the dance floor. His whole reason is that Philippe’s birthday parties are always boring and he wants to see the man actually enjoy himself. It works, and Philippe laughs harder than he has in a long time. After the party, Driss walks Philippe back to his room and hands him a letter, a reply from Eleonore. She’s promised to come to Paris next week to meet him in person. She also included a photo of herself, and she’s gorgeous. Philippe is so happy he can’t sleep that night.
The day finally arrives. Philippe gets ready to meet Eleonore, with Yvonne by his side. Meanwhile, Driss comes through for Elisa and gets Bastian to apologize. Then Driss swings by where his mom works. He hasn’t made things right with her yet, and the guilt is too heavy. He can only watch her from a distance before walking away. Back to Philippe, who’s waiting for Eleonore and his nerves are completely shot. He’s terrified she’ll be disappointed when she sees him, really sees him, in a wheelchair, paralyzed. The anxiety becomes too much and he decides to leave. But as he’s turning to go, he accidentally walks right past Eleonore without realizing it. A beautiful, elegant woman passes right beside him, and he has no idea that’s her.
Days pass. Philippe tries to push Eleonore out of his mind. One day he invites Driss to join him on his private jet. On board, Philippe hands Driss an envelope with 11,000 euros inside, the money from the painting that sold. He also tells Driss straight up that he has a real talent for abstract art. After that, they spend their days traveling, just the two of them, enjoying each other’s company, no longer boss and employee, just two friends. When they finally get back, Driss finds Adama waiting for him at the house. His brother got kicked out by their mom after she found out about his involvement in another weed situation. Driss is annoyed. He lays into him for always causing problems.
Not long after, Philippe calls Driss into his study and asks about his past. Driss opens up. He was an orphan from Senegal, adopted at eight years old. The woman he’s called his mother his whole life is actually his aunt, Fatou. His real name is Bakary. And Adama? He was also born without a father. Their aunt used to come home late and suddenly turn up pregnant. Philippe sits with all of this, his emotions all over the place. The Driss he’s known has always seemed cheerful, almost carefree, and he had no idea.
Philippe then tells Driss to stop working for him, not as a punishment. He wants Driss to take the time to sort out his family situation and get his life together. He also doesn’t want Driss to spend his whole life as a caretaker, because he deserves more than that. Philippe says the care he’s received has been exceptional, and it genuinely hurts to let him go. But that night, as a friend, he does it anyway. The morning Driss leaves, the whole household is quiet and sad. His presence had filled the place with laughter and life. Everyone says goodbye. Driss and Adama head out together. On the way home, they stop to meet their mom on her way back from work. The two brothers bow their heads, say sorry, and take her bag without a word. No matter how angry she was when she threw them out, she forgives them. The three of them walk home together.
One Last Gift
Some time later, Driss lands a job as a delivery courier. Back at Philippe’s place, things are different now. The new caretaker does the job fine, but there’s no warmth, no laughter. Philippe goes quiet. You can tell he’s uncomfortable, that something’s missing. One night he has a breathing episode and refuses to let the new caretaker help. Yvonne eventually tracks down Driss and asks him to come back.The next morning, Driss shows up at Philippe’s door. Philippe is happy to see him but sad at the same time. Driss immediately breaks the tension by roasting Philippe’s face, which has grown a thick, wild beard and mustache. Just like that, they’re back to how they were.
A little while later, Driss takes Philippe out somewhere. He drives like a maniac and they get pulled over. But Driss thinks fast and tells the cops that Philippe is having a medical emergency, that his stroke is acting up and they need to move. The cops let them go and actually escort them to the hospital. Once the coast is clear and the cops are gone, Driss peels off in the other direction entirely. He takes Philippe to a beach somewhere far from the city, somewhere open and beautiful, the kind of place Philippe hasn’t been able to enjoy while cooped up in that mansion.
The next day, they go out to lunch at a restaurant. But the moment Driss sits down across from Philippe, he says he has to go because something important came up. Before he leaves, he slides the stolen decorative egg across the table, finally returning it. He tells Philippe someone special is coming and then just walks out, leaving Philippe sitting there alone and confused. Philippe waits, not knowing what to expect, his anxiety building. Then, after a while, a strikingly beautiful woman walks over and sits down in front of him. It’s Eleonore. Driss had been quietly arranging this the whole time. He knew Philippe still had feelings for her and decided to make it happen. From across the room, Driss watches them meet for the very first time and smiles to himself. He thinks: getting these two together is the last gift he has to give as a friend.
