I found it very hard to be that involved with this story--and not just because I think the characters (particularly Fanny Ardant) are so tough to believe. No, this tale of infidelity and voyeurism suffered from a major problem--it was dull! Yes, a film that TALKS and TALKS about sex (and we're not talking about the "missionary position" here folks, but just about every other style of sex you could think of) and shows a bit of skin here and there but it just isn't very interesting--and much of it is due to the way the characters sleep-walked through their parts. There was absolutely no emotion, no "humanity" about the characters. All three were so non-emotive that it made the whole film seem very artificial. Plus, the sex and the characters were just not at all engaging.
It's sad, really, as there are some good elements to the film--such as the real relationship between Emmanuelle Béart and Gérard Depardieu (the film is deliberately vague here--not a bad thing, really). The film also attempted to try to say something about infidelity--but then seemed to lose its way. But what left me confused was the strong undercurrent of lesbianism in the film. The lesbianism was only hinted at, but if I think if the film had gone more in that direction, then it would have at least infused a little more life into the production and explained why Ardant behaved in such an illogical and scatter-brained manner. It also would have explained her failed marriage, her frigidity and her obsession with Béart. As it was, I could easily see how a viewer could be left confused and unsatisfied by this film.
There have got to be better films about infidelity or marital discord than this. Oh, and of course, due to the very graphic nature of this film, it is strongly recommended that you DON'T show this film to your kids (duh).
It's sad, really, as there are some good elements to the film--such as the real relationship between Emmanuelle Béart and Gérard Depardieu (the film is deliberately vague here--not a bad thing, really). The film also attempted to try to say something about infidelity--but then seemed to lose its way. But what left me confused was the strong undercurrent of lesbianism in the film. The lesbianism was only hinted at, but if I think if the film had gone more in that direction, then it would have at least infused a little more life into the production and explained why Ardant behaved in such an illogical and scatter-brained manner. It also would have explained her failed marriage, her frigidity and her obsession with Béart. As it was, I could easily see how a viewer could be left confused and unsatisfied by this film.
There have got to be better films about infidelity or marital discord than this. Oh, and of course, due to the very graphic nature of this film, it is strongly recommended that you DON'T show this film to your kids (duh).