La Dame aux camélias (1980) - film review

At a stage performance of Alexandre Dumas fils’ celebrated novel Camille, an old man reflects on the events which provided the inspiration for the story.  He is Plessis, the father of Alphonsine, a celebrated courtesan who died five years ago from tuberculosis.  A country girl, Alphonsine was sold by her father to a neighbour before escaping to Paris to make a living as a seamstress and prostitute.  The wealthy Count Stackelberg adopts her after the death of his own daughter, and then she marries the Count Perregaux.  When she separates from her husband, Alphonsine returns to Paris and resumes her career as a prostitute, in spite of her declining health.

This sumptuous period drama from acclaimed Italian director Mauro Bolognini recounts the life of Alphonsine Plessis, the famous Parisian prostitute who was the inspiration for Alexandre Dumas’ novel Camille and Guiseppi Verdi’s opera La Traviata.   Isabelle Huppert plays the leading role with delicacy and sensitivity, portraying Alphonsine as a vulnerable waif-like character who is constantly tormented by her ill health and her voracious sexual appetite.

Although the film has some intensely touching moments, it is weighed down by its languid pace and an over-abundance of detail.  Characters come and go in seamless transition and the "heroine" Alphonsine Plessis appears to undergo very little in the way of character development, other than grow more grievously ill by the minute.

Whilst the film is weak from a dramatic point of view, it has a great deal to commend it on the presentation side.  Ornate sets and costumes offer an authentic depiction of the era in which the film is set, and there is a beautiful score from Ennio Morricone.  The film will appeal most to those who are familiar with Dumas’ Camille or Verdi’s La Traviata and are interested in knowing the "true story" behind these great works.

© James Travers 2003

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