Nous ne vieillirons pas ensemble (1972) - film review

For several years, Jean, a middle-aged filmmaker, has been having an affair with a younger woman, Catherine.  In spite of this, he continues to live with his wife Françoise.  Catherine accepts the arrangement, and even allows Jean to bully and intimidate her.  But, during a filming tour in Camargue, Jean’s outbursts of anger drive Catherine away.  A short while later, the couple are together again.  How much longer will the stormy relationship last…?

For his second full-length film, Maurice Pialat adapted his auto-biographical novel, casting Jean Yanne to play him on the strength of their physical similarity.  As in most of Pialat’s better work, the film chronicles a volatile relationship between two seemingly incompatible characters, in an emotionally charged and painfully honest piece of drama.  Jean Yanne is seldom as impressive as he is in this film, giving what could fairly be rated as his best screen performance.  The standard of acting is high generally, with a memorable contribution from Marlène Jobert, allowing Pialat to create one of the most perfect pieces of cinema in his impressive and sadly underrated oeuvre.

© James Travers 2005

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