One of France's last truly great directors, Claude Sautet, shuffled off this mortal coil in 2000 and this film became his swansong.
Unlike so many directors he went out with a bang rather than a whimper, winning a César in the process.
It has all of what one comes to expect from his work from 'Les Choses de ma Vie' onwards, in terms of subtlety, intelligence, psychological penetration and meticulous construction.
Sautet had taken a break from films as a result of his devastation at the deaths of Romy Schneider and Patrick Dewaere. When he resumed his last three films acquired a certain austerity of style.
When the Nelly of Emmanuelle Béart leaves her shiftless husband she takes a job typing the memoirs of former judge Monsieur Arnaud played by Michel Serrault. There is a definite 'connection' from the outset between employer and employee but it is unspoken. In Sautet's films of course it is often the unspoken that speaks volumes. Being an extremely attractive young woman she is obviously flattered by his attentions but he holds back, fearing perhaps rejection as he is much older than she. The crucial scene is where he sits by her bedside watching her as she sleeps. She opens her eyes and her reaction when she sees him is totally unexpected! Throughout the film they engage in what Roger Ebert describes perfectly as 'a delicate emotional and intellectual dance'.
The magnificent Michel Serrault fully deserved his César for this performance. He has reached that sublime state when he is not acting at all, just 'being'. He also bears an uncanny resemblance in this to Sautet himself. Michel Lonsdale has a small role but with this actor of course, no role is small. The fascinating Francoise Brion impresses as Arnaud's estranged wife.
Mlle Béart is in the full bloom of her beauty here and has the same intensity and air of mystery that makes her so intriguing. She is however not quite as convincing a typist as she is a violinist in Sautet's 'Un Coeur en Hiver'!
Like Sautet's earlier 'César et Rosalie' this film ends with a question mark which might frustrate those who like their endings to be conclusive but then again no story really has an end..........
Unlike so many directors he went out with a bang rather than a whimper, winning a César in the process.
It has all of what one comes to expect from his work from 'Les Choses de ma Vie' onwards, in terms of subtlety, intelligence, psychological penetration and meticulous construction.
Sautet had taken a break from films as a result of his devastation at the deaths of Romy Schneider and Patrick Dewaere. When he resumed his last three films acquired a certain austerity of style.
When the Nelly of Emmanuelle Béart leaves her shiftless husband she takes a job typing the memoirs of former judge Monsieur Arnaud played by Michel Serrault. There is a definite 'connection' from the outset between employer and employee but it is unspoken. In Sautet's films of course it is often the unspoken that speaks volumes. Being an extremely attractive young woman she is obviously flattered by his attentions but he holds back, fearing perhaps rejection as he is much older than she. The crucial scene is where he sits by her bedside watching her as she sleeps. She opens her eyes and her reaction when she sees him is totally unexpected! Throughout the film they engage in what Roger Ebert describes perfectly as 'a delicate emotional and intellectual dance'.
The magnificent Michel Serrault fully deserved his César for this performance. He has reached that sublime state when he is not acting at all, just 'being'. He also bears an uncanny resemblance in this to Sautet himself. Michel Lonsdale has a small role but with this actor of course, no role is small. The fascinating Francoise Brion impresses as Arnaud's estranged wife.
Mlle Béart is in the full bloom of her beauty here and has the same intensity and air of mystery that makes her so intriguing. She is however not quite as convincing a typist as she is a violinist in Sautet's 'Un Coeur en Hiver'!
Like Sautet's earlier 'César et Rosalie' this film ends with a question mark which might frustrate those who like their endings to be conclusive but then again no story really has an end..........