Serge Gainsbourg is one of those guys that always seemed like a perfect biopic subject. He was charismatic, smarmy, controversial and incredibly talented. He shacked up with some of the most beautiful French actresses in the 1960s, made dozens of hit records, and tricked a 18-year-old “ye-ye” singer into recording a song he wrote that appeared to be about lollipops but was actually about something very different. You can pick almost any aspect of his career and life and have the makings of an amazing and captivating film.

Unfortunately, GAINSBOURG JE T’AIME… MOI NON PLUS (or as it was known in Europe, GAINSBOURG (VIE HÉROIQUE)), a film written and directed by French comic book artist Joann Sfar, is not the definitive Gainsbourg biopic. It’s not for the lack of an amazing performance by Eric Elmosnino in the lead, a man who not only looks exactly like Gainsbourg but seems to be channeling his presence in every frame. Indeed all of the performances are top-notch, as is the production design which convincingly captures all of the eras of Gainsbourg’s life, from his childhood in pre-WW2 France to his lush lifestyle at the height of his success. A fair part of the writing is good as well, following a largely linear timeline and capturing some great moments that defined Gainsbourg’s early success.

The problematic aspect of GAINSBOURG comes in what’s left out, most notably the controversy that surrounded his life. The aforementioned episode with 18-year old France Gall’s hit single “Le Sucettes” is a prime example of what Gainsbourg was all about. He loved to push boundaries and see what he could get away with, and in this case he took advantage of a young girl who literally had no idea what she was singing about. When Gall later discovered the true meaning behind the song, she was devastated. According to Sylvie Simmons in her book, Serge Gainsbourg: A Fistful of Gitanes: “Gall said that she had sung Gainsbourg’s songs ‘with an innocence of which I’m proud. I was pained to then learn that he had turned the situation to his advantage, mocking me’.” France Gall is a character in Sfar’s film, but she has a grand total of one scene and the reference to the “Les Sucettes” episode is more of a wink to the audience rather than a flushed out dramatization of a pivotal and infamous episode.

More time is given to Gainsbourg’s more notorious controversy; his recording with Jane Birken of “Je T’Aime… Moi Non Plus”. But the time devoted to that episode has more to do with his inspiration for the song (originally Bridget Bardot) with nothing about it being condemned by the vatican, getting banned around the world and turning his biggest “cause celebré”. Leaving the controversy out of a film about Serge Gainsbourg seems misguided at best.

Rather than focus on the richness of the man himself, Sfar creates an embodiment of Gainsbourg’s alter ego, a giant puppet like version of Gainsbourg that shadows him throughout the film and taunts/chastises/encourages him at key moments in his life. It’s a device that I assume Sfar lifted from the comic book version of the story on which his script is based, but on screen it’s a gimmick that fits the style of the film but feels too much like the hand of the filmmaker reaching in and making his presence felt. With an incredible character like Serge Gainsbourg, gimmicks are an unneeded distraction from a story that already had more than enough tantalizing elements.

For a taste of the real Serge in action, here’s a great clip of him in his prime composing and recording one of his best known singles: “Initials B.B”