Vénus beauté (institut) (1999) - film review

Angèle is a middle-aged beautician who refuses to settle down with a man, preferring a string of one night stands and short-term relationships.  She works at the Venus Beauty clinic, where her colleagues include the disillusioned Samantha, who, like Angèle, is unable to commit to a long-term relationship, and the ingenuous Marie, who innocently accepts gifts from an ageing widower who is receiving cosmetic surgery.  Angèle’s life takes an unexpected turn one day when a younger man, a total stranger named Antoine, accosts her and says he is in love with her.   At first, afraid of what this may lead to, Angèle pushes Antoine aside.  Then, as he persists, she begins to do what she has tried to avoid all her life, to fall in love…

A surprising mix of the conventional and the unexpected, Vénus beauté (institut) is superficially a familiar modern day love story, centred around a middle-aged woman who finally discovers true love after a life-time of avoiding it.  Yet, cleverly, its narrative is constructed around several layers, many of which would probably be missed in a single viewing of the film.

The gaudy rose-tinted photography, matching the neon-drenched sugary artificiality of the beauty clinic, overlays a complex human drama, involving not just the lead character, Angèle, but also her colleagues, her family and her ex-lovers.  Far from diluting the film’s impact, its all-too-pretty cinematography and occasional comic diversions somehow heighten the drama and involve the viewer to a greater degree.  Just as women (and men) use make-up to hide their physical imperfections, Angèle has cacooned herself in a false external shell for herself, which conceals a tragically wounded character.  The film’s strong visual style makes an appropriate metaphor for its content, and the two complement each other very well.

The quality of this film was reflected both in its popularity (attracting 1.3 million cinema goers in France) and at the 2000 Césars Ceremony, where it won no less than four awards, including awards for the best director, best film and best original scenario.  It also won the best promising newcomer César for the captivating debutant Audrey Tautou, who has since shot to fame as the elfin Amélie Poulain in Jeunet’s 2001 film.   Nathalie Baye missed out on the best actress award (which went to Karin Viard in Haut les coeurs), in spite of a truly remarkable performance.  Baye’s conribution to the film is probably, more than anything, what makes it so enjoyable and also so moving.

© James Travers 2001

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One of the joys of contemporary French cinema is the number of female directors turning out high quality mainstream films as opposed to feminist-themed films.  Many of these women began as actors and in some cases - Nicole Garcia, Agnès Jaoui, Valeria Bruni Tedeschi, Sophie Marceau - continue to act both for themselves and other directors.  Some, like Danièle Thompson, were never actors, whilst others - Anne Fontaine, Toni Marshall - abandoned acting completely in favour of writing and directing.  The last two are particularly accomplished filmmakers and in Vénus Beauté Toni Marshall came up with a well-deserved Best Film César winner.  At one level - the excellent casting - this is as sublime as Danièle Thompson's La Bûche.  Whilst Nathalie Baye shines in the leading role, she is more than ably supported by Bulle Ogier, Mathilde Seigner, Audrey Tautou and male lead Samuel Le Bihan, not forgetting Marshall's real-life mother, the wonderful Micheline Presle, who was so much a part of French cinema in the forties and fifties. Toni Marshall has concocted the ultimate confection and baked it to perfection.  Beyond excellent.
© Leon Nock (London, England) 2010 

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