Nathalie Movie Review:


There's an intriguing idea behind this technically well-made film, but it's so dull and pretentious that it never lands the gut-punch it's so clearly trying to throw. It's the story of a jealous woman, Catherine (Ardant), who's fed up with the meaningless liaisons her husband Bernard (Depardieu) mournfully admits to. But instead of leaving him or even asking him to stop, she secretly hires a hooker (Beart) and gives her the name Nathalie, because it's more likely to help her seduce Bernard. So she can then tell Catherine every little gory detail.

The strange relationship between Catherine and Nathalie is the best thing about he film; as it progresses, their friendship becomes increasingly illicit, in that it's based on secrets and suspicions. We see everything from Catherine's point of view, only hearing about the affair through Nathalie's lurid accounts. As a result the film feels over-talky and ponderous, with characters agonising about life but never living it! For all the talk of sex, the film is strangely sexless. And the filmmakers seem to wimp out just when they could add a very intriguing wrinkle to the story.

That said, the dialog is tellingly written, and Fontaine directs with a lush moodiness that brings out an especially strong, shadowy performance from Beart. Depardieu gives a smooth supporting performance that adds just the right counterpoint to all the female angst. But while Ardant is always excellent, she's far too muted here. This is a problem since she's our key into the story, yet she's so unsympathetic and irrational that we don't care much. In addition, the plot's big secret is extremely apparent right from the start, if you're paying attention, so the whole thing feels rather condescending (like the filmmakers think we're as unobservant as some of the characters). As an examination of the true nature of infidelity, the film is cleverly subtle and thought-provoking. But this seems almost accidental! The filmmakers don't seem to have any point at all, and by the time we reach the end we're completely uninterested anyway.

Rich Cline

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