Omar Sy

In the opera scene in The Intouchables (2011), Omar Sy and François Cluzet make a familiar joke about clashing tastes feel fresh. We laughed because their timing makes the exchange seem discovered between them, rather than delivered to us. Sy brings the energy, but leaves Cluzet room to answer it. That willingness to respond is what makes Driss, the carer of Cluzet’s wealthy Philippe, someone worth spending an evening with.

Éric Toledano and Olivier Nakache build the film around men separated by money and circumstance. Mathieu Vadepied’s clear images of Philippe’s surroundings and François Emmanuelli’s production design establish that difference without explanation. Cluzet keeps Philippe alert enough to be a partner in the comedy, rather than someone waiting to be cheered up. It gives Sy something to respond to, and the friendship becomes convincing through the pleasure the actors convey in each other’s company.

Radio comedy and the duo Omar et Fred preceded the breakthrough as Driss. He reunited with Toledano and Nakache for Samba (2014), playing Samba Cissé in a drama about undocumented immigration. Hollywood supporting work included Barry in Jurassic World (2015), part of a stretch in which roles often gave him little time or emotional substance. As Assane Diop in the series Lupin (2021–), his timing and physical energy have more room in heist stories.

The restrictions matter because Sy is good at making a partnership feel mutual. Driss is too often required to improve Philippe’s life without becoming inconvenient to him, and the performance suggests a more particular person than that job allows. A little less reassurance from the screenplay would have helped. Start with The Intouchables for Sy and Cluzet, but expect the writing to take fewer risks than either deserves.