La Vieille fille (1972) - film review

Muriel, a shy middle-aged spinster, checks into a seaside hotel at Cassis, half-hoping to find a male companion after years of hopeless searching.  By coincidence, a lonely middle-aged man, Gabriel, arrives at the same hotel after his car breaks down.  Their paths soon cross but they find it hard to overcome their shyness.  Can they have finally found their elusive happiness?

This gentle comedy features Annie Girardot and Philippe Noiret, two greatly loved actors in France.  It was a surprising box office success for director Jean-Pierre Blanc, his first full-length film.  With its refreshingly unusual style, off-the-wall (almost surreal) comic moments and honest, closely observed portrayal of male-female interactions, La Vieille fille is a rare film that feels both anarchic and comforting.  The on-screen rapport between Girardot and Noiret has a quality of magic about it; so much is conveyed in so small a space that you end up feeling you know both of the characters they portray intimately.  A charming film, and subtly poignant.

© James Travers 2002

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