La Vie à deux (1958) - film review

In his old age, the writer Pierre Careau is alone and has no one to inherit his wealth.   He owes his fame and wealth to his novel, entitled La Vie à deux (a.k.a. Life as a Couple), which he based on the relationships of four happily married couples.  He decides to leave his wealth to whichever of these couples are still leading an unblemished married life, otherwise his wealth goes to his publishing colleagues...

This multi-part film with an impressive star-studied cast lacks the feel of a satisfying whole, but it is so full of magical little moments that that hardly seems to matter.  Written by Sacha Guitry, a luminary of French cinema and a distinguished writer in his own right, the film has some sparkling dialogue which is brought to life by some amazing acting talent.

The best instances of this are Jean Marais, playing a conjurer who gets entrapped by a sex-starved society lady, and Gérard Philipe playing the valet who is ultimately the downfall of the same society lady.  Pierre Brasseur, Edwige Feuillère and Louis de Funès, amongst others, also put in some memorable performances.

After an impressive first half, the film does seem to slow down and lose its charm towards the end.  Nonetheless, it is certainly worth seeing, if only for the thrill of viewing so many acting legends of French cinema in one film.

© James Travers 2001

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The reviewer forgot to mention the high society lady in the film in the best scenes with Jean Marais and Gérald Phillip.  It was the international star LILLI PALMER and she walked away with the whole film.  She was stunning and charming as usual.  She was one of the few stars who was not in fact French but she worked in French, German and English and was probably the most cultivated of stars of international cinema.  The other ladies in the film, Danielle Darrieux and Edwige Feuillière were pale in comparison and these were two terrific actresses. See the movie for Miss Palmer.
Jonathan Lippman (Geneva, Swizerland) 

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