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Gentille
2005 Comedy / Drama / Romance
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Synopsis
Fontaine Le Glou is a thirty-something woman with everything that a
thirty-something woman could want – a good physique, a well-paid job in
a psychiatric clinic and an attentive lover named Michel
Strogoff. Yet is it enough? One day, she
accosts a man in the street whom she thinks is stalking her. He
says he isn’t and they arrange a time to meet up again. Alas, he
is already married, so that’s that. Then Fontaine notices another
man, Philippe, and finds herself strangely attached to him when he
becomes one of her patients. When Michel offers to marry her,
Fontaine hesitates, unsure whether he really is the man for her or just
a passing phenomenon in her crowded life...
Film Review
Sophie Fillières third and most unusual to date – after Grande petite (1994) and Aïe (2000) – feels like a
distinctly Gallic take on Bridget Jones, featuring a confident young
career woman who balks at the prospect of marriage. The main
appeal of the film is its slightly surreal edge which reinforces the
first person perspective without making it appear too obvious.
What appears perfectly normal for one person can take on a distinctly
abnormal impression for another who may not entirely have his or her
feet on terra firma. After all, life is full of weird and
unpredictable events (if this were not the case, things would be pretty
dull and France would never
have won the World Cup in 1998). The part of the ballsy charismatic heroine seems to have been especially created for Emmanuelle Devos, so well does she inhabit the part, so vividly does she convey the chaotic inner world of a woman teetering on the brink of mid-life crisis. Equally, Bruno Todeschini and Lambert Wilson are both excellent in the role of men who find themselves emasculated by the phenomenon of the modern woman. Another delight is the pairing of Michael Lonsdale and Bulle Ogier as an amusing ageing couple – they were last seen together in Jacques Rivette’s 1971 film Out 1, and are just as effective at stealing the focus and our indulgence. Gentille is an engaging little film with a great deal of charm and humour, but it doesn’t quite live up to the promise of its first thirty minutes or so. Sophie Fillières shows somewhat more maturity in both her writing and direction than in her previous films and is clearly a director with a great future, perhaps rivalling the success of her younger sister, the actress Hélène Fillières. Gentille may not be entirely satisfying but it is sufficiently quirky and intelligent to hold the spectator’s attention, although the main reason for watching it is to savour yet another magnificent turn from Emmanuelle Devos. Write a review for this film... User Comments
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