|
General Review:
Truffaut is a legendary European director and this film is typical of his methodical yet very emotional storytelling. The screenplay has no unnecessary dialogue or scenes -- it does not meander, like a Blier film or even like Truffaut's own "Two English Girls". Every line is purposeful and the plot drives ever forward to its tragic conclusion. Symbolic touches, such as the framing story of Madame Jouve, reinforce the main theme, which is that passion, when extreme, can be like a madness and that love and hate are inextricably bound. Fanny Ardant makes a very fragile Mathilde -- we believe that she has reached a tentative stability after a long and traumatic recovery from her relationship with Bernard years ago. When she faints as he first kisses her, we see her vulnerability -- she cannot resist him even though it threatens all the peace of mind she has fought for so hard. And Depardieu as Bernard is equally convincing. He can seem like such a decent, normal person with his wife, Arlette -- and so he is. It is only Mathilde that really brings out the violent and destructive side of him. This is an intimate story, a human story told on a small scale, believable and even recognizable.
Depardieu Review:
A fine, fine performance from the early 80's. This is a role that demands physical passion, coldness and violence, and Depardieu delivers with startling conviction. He goes from a jealous rage to cold indifference in the space of a few scenes and makes it completely real. Despite his young good looks in this film, Bernard Coudray is a scary person! A great depiction of, as Mathilde terms him, a manic-depressive.
|
|
