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Belle maman
1999 Comedy / Romance
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Credits
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Director: Gabriel Aghion
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Script: Gabriel Aghion, Jean-Marie Duprez (novel), Danièle Thompson
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Photo: Romain Winding
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Music: Bruno Coulais, Vincenzo Bellini
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Cast: Catherine Deneuve (Léa),
Vincent Lindon (Antoine),
Mathilde Seigner (Séverine),
Line Renaud (Nicou),
Stéphane Audran (Brigitte),
Danièle Lebrun (Josette),
Jean Yanne (Paul),
Idris Elba (Grégoire),
Artus de Penguern (Pascal),
Françoise Lépine (Nathalie)
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Country: France
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Language: French
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Runtime: 102 min
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Aka: Beautiful Mother
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Summary
On the very day of his marriage to Séverine, lawyer Antoine allows his attentions
to wander… in the direction of his future mother-in-law Léa. When he
subsequently reveals his interest in Léa, the 50-something career woman insists
there is no way they can have an affair. The family is reunited at Léa’s
hotel in the Bahamas to celebrate the 70th birthday of Léa’s mother, Nicou,
a lesbian who shares her life with the slightly deranged Brigitte. Despite the fact
that his wife has just given birth, Antoine is still irresistibly drawn towards Léa,
and she realises that she too may be in love…
Review
Although less original and daring than Gabriel Aghion’s previous film, Pédale
douce (1996), Belle maman is a respectable
comedy-romance which benefits from an exceptional star-studded cast. Catherine Deneuve
hasn’t looked as good as this for years and her performance, alongside the magnificent
Vincent Lindon, is one of her most rewarding in decades. Line Renaud, Stéphane
Audran and Jean Yanne provide great entertainment value, and a touch of poignancy, in
some well-drawn supporting roles.
Aided and abetted by ace screenwriter Danièle Thompson, Aghion manages to
balance the film’s comic and dramatic elements with great skill, although the film
does feel unevenly structured. After a spectacular opening sequence, which wrong-foots
the spectator into thinking this is going to be a frenetic, hugely energetic musical,
the pace slips abruptly into that of a more conventional French comedy-drama. The
sudden shift in location doesn’t help matters – one minute we’re in
Paris, the next we’re in the Bahamas, then back to Paris – neither does the
over abundance of half-developed story strands. All this suggests that Aghion didn’t
have a clear vision of the kind of film he was trying to make at the outset. In
a way, it’s a kind of pot pourri of a film – colourful and fragrant, but a
bit of a mess, albeit an attractive one.
There is some great comedy (and a lot
of needless vulgarity, but let’s overlook that), which should guarantee at least
a few laughs. The film’s final sequence – where the angelic children
of the odd-ball family attempt to unpick the complex plot of relationships – is
hilarious. The film’s greatest strength, however, is in its sensitive and
credible portrayal of a forbidden affair.
© James Travers 2005
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