At one point, André tells Louise about their couple: "It is only superficially that it is superficial." The same could be said about the movie. Initially, it is essentially seducing, glittering with stylish settings, elegant images, finely crafted dialogues and charming characters. It feels like a precise mechanism, paced by the movement of the earrings going from one hand to another, regularly coming back to the same persons (Louise possesses them four times, André and the jeweller each three times and Fabrizio twice). There is something comical about this movement, notably when André bewilderedly discovers them the second time.
DARKNESS BEHIND GLITTER
But progressively, the smooth surface cracks open, revealing an outbreak of passions and eventually tragedy. Frequent mirrors already indicate we are seeing an artificial environment that is about to give way.
Louise falls madly in love then becomes gravely ill, André loses control, Fabrizio switches from love to disdain, there is a duel. The futile movement of the earrings becomes increasingly dramatic: Louise sadly gives them to her niece; they trigger the separation between Louise and Fabrizio; she ruins herself to buy them back; she donates them to a church to avoid a disaster, that seems inevitable anyhow. These earrings are more than a McGuffin opening and closing the movie: they illustrate its evolution from a bright to a dark tone.
We build up certitudes during the first part of the movie, and they slowly fall apart.
TRAGIC PROGRESSION
Aesthetically, form evolves to reflect the downfall of the atmosphere and the characters. At the beginning, the movie is poised, with slow, long, fluid shots. Towards the end, the rhythm accelerates: shots are shorter, they lose control for instance by showing Louise in church with an inclined image. Then the movie ends brutally, without revealing the outcome of the duel (Fabrizio could just be wounded) and Louise's probable death (which is not certain). After an abrupt ellipse, it confusingly closes on a shot of the earrings in the empty church. The precise mechanism has jammed.
To emphasise the contrast between the first and the last part of the movie, Ophüls associates events that occur once in a light mode, once in a dark mode: the seeds of tragedy are sown from the start. A few examples, on top of the earrings mentioned above:
Fundamentally, "Madame de" is a tragic story about relationships destroyed by miscommunication: Louise and André could have been happy if each had not played a role drifting them apart; Louise's and Fabrizio's passion could have lasted if she had been sincere to him and to herself. The tragedy is all the more gripping as the movie starts in a light, delightful mode.
A last note: the movie is based on the short novel by Louise de Vilmorin written two years earlier. The movie roughly follows the same plot, also ending with Louise's death, although it sometimes diverges: notably, there is no duel in the novel. Regardless, the movie gives an altogether superior dimension to the story by magnificently illustrating the dramatic evolution.
DARKNESS BEHIND GLITTER
But progressively, the smooth surface cracks open, revealing an outbreak of passions and eventually tragedy. Frequent mirrors already indicate we are seeing an artificial environment that is about to give way.
Louise falls madly in love then becomes gravely ill, André loses control, Fabrizio switches from love to disdain, there is a duel. The futile movement of the earrings becomes increasingly dramatic: Louise sadly gives them to her niece; they trigger the separation between Louise and Fabrizio; she ruins herself to buy them back; she donates them to a church to avoid a disaster, that seems inevitable anyhow. These earrings are more than a McGuffin opening and closing the movie: they illustrate its evolution from a bright to a dark tone.
We build up certitudes during the first part of the movie, and they slowly fall apart.
- Louise first appears as a lovely, mundane, frivolous, deceitful lady, only absorbed in fancy clothing, jewellery, parties and dances. Yet we start feeling sorry for her because she is suffocating in her couple: symbolically, all scenes with her husband occur inside, while in exterior scenes she is alone or with Fabrizio. We then understand she is capable of boundless love: she becomes ill when she realises Fabrizio is turning away from her, she humbles herself in front of him. In a compelling shot, contrasting with her previous gorgeous images, she appears before him exhausted, in plain clothing, without jewels.
- André first does not seem to love Louise deeply: he is chiefly preoccupied by social conventions and appearances. However he finally admits he did everything for her: "To please you, I forced myself to play a role I do not like." He is hurt when he sees her devastated by love: he loses his temper and provokes a duel that will make him either a criminal or a dead man. This apparently dominating and arrogant character is actually touching.
- Fabrizio first looks like a superficial Italian seducer, only attracted by Louise's looks. Yet he genuinely gets to love her. He is hurt when he understands she lies to him. His resulting disappointment and sorrow are so intense he is willing to die: when André asks for a duel, he is not surprised or frightened. He calmly refuses to apologise, knowing he will probably be killed since André is more experienced.
TRAGIC PROGRESSION
Aesthetically, form evolves to reflect the downfall of the atmosphere and the characters. At the beginning, the movie is poised, with slow, long, fluid shots. Towards the end, the rhythm accelerates: shots are shorter, they lose control for instance by showing Louise in church with an inclined image. Then the movie ends brutally, without revealing the outcome of the duel (Fabrizio could just be wounded) and Louise's probable death (which is not certain). After an abrupt ellipse, it confusingly closes on a shot of the earrings in the empty church. The precise mechanism has jammed.
To emphasise the contrast between the first and the last part of the movie, Ophüls associates events that occur once in a light mode, once in a dark mode: the seeds of tragedy are sown from the start. A few examples, on top of the earrings mentioned above:
- At the beginning, Louise prays in church for a futile motive (she wants the jeweller to accept the earrings). At the end, she prays again in church for a more dramatic reason: she wants Fabrizio to survive the duel.
- At the opera, a friend tells André someone demands an apology because he stared at his wife: potentially this could turn into a duel, but André wittingly avoids the trap. At the end, André calls for a duel with Fabrizio precisely because he seduced his wife (although the official reason is different) and precisely asks the same friend to be his witness.
- At the dinner, Louise and Fabrizio sitting next to each other speak two different languages to other persons. This announces their future misunderstandings.
- During the hunt, Louise faints when she sees Fabrizio falling off his horse. Nothing serious: Fabrizio is safe and André jokes about his wife's ability to faint. At the end, Louise collapses again, but it is much more dramatic: Fabrizio was possibly killed, and she will probably die.
- At the club, André and Fabrizio argue politely while two swordsmen practice in the background. No harm done, yet these two fake duels announce the real one at the end.
- Louise repeats to Fabrizio "I don't love you", to express the opposite. This announces their future separation.
Fundamentally, "Madame de" is a tragic story about relationships destroyed by miscommunication: Louise and André could have been happy if each had not played a role drifting them apart; Louise's and Fabrizio's passion could have lasted if she had been sincere to him and to herself. The tragedy is all the more gripping as the movie starts in a light, delightful mode.
A last note: the movie is based on the short novel by Louise de Vilmorin written two years earlier. The movie roughly follows the same plot, also ending with Louise's death, although it sometimes diverges: notably, there is no duel in the novel. Regardless, the movie gives an altogether superior dimension to the story by magnificently illustrating the dramatic evolution.