Summary
Sabine, a 25 year old arts student, is having an affair with a married man, Simon.
When she realises that he will never leave his wife for her, Sabine decides to go out
and find herself a husband. At a wedding party, her friend Clarisse introduces her
to a 25 year old lawyer named Edmond. In an instant, Sabine decides that Edmond
is the man she will marry, but he disappears before they have chance to speak properly
together. Obsessed with the idea of marrying Edmond, Sabine repeatedly calls him,
not realising that marriage is the last thing on Edmond’s mind...
Review
The second of Eric Rohmer’s Comédies et proverbes, Le Beau mariage
is a wryly satirical romantic comedy where the central heroine, a headstrong middle-class
young woman, pursues a mad fantasy to its logical conclusion and ends up humiliating herself.
It is perhaps the cruellest of Rohmer’s romantic films, and even if Sabine gets all that
she deserves, the outcome of her mad pursuit of Edmond is rather touching and shows something
which most people can identify with – the aching sense of disappointment when one realises
the folly of one’s self-delusion. Building castles in the air may initially be a
harmless occupation, but as the film shows, it can also result in an excruciatingly painful
outcome if carried too far.
Although Le Beau mariage is ultimately quite poignant, it is predominantly a very
funny film, probably the most intentionally comical of Rohmer’s films. Béatrice
Romand (who previously starred in the fifth of Rohmer’s Moral Tales Le Genou de Claire
as the manipulative teenager Laura) is perfectly cast, playing Sabine, a typically
headstrong Rohmeresque heroine whose ideals are muddled, contradictory but stubbornly
forceful. Sabine’s victim, Edmond, is played magnificently by André Dussollier,
whose body language throughout his scenes with Romand is so expressive that his dialogue
is almost superfluous. Rohmer is also well-served by his usual troupe of actors,
including the captivating Arielle Dombasle, who plays the totally unscrupulous matchmaker,
Clarisse.
Ironic, witty, intelligent and so, so true to life, Le Beau mariage is, despite
its evident cruelty, unquestionably one of Eric Rohmer's most delightful and entertaining
films.
© James Travers 2002
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