La Femme défendue (1997)
Directed by Philippe Harel

Film Review

La Femme défendue is a familiar tale of marital infidelity à la française, but told in the most unfamiliar way imaginable.  The entire drama is filmed literally from the point of view of the central male character, with some ingenious camerawork that convinces us we are seeing the world through his eyes. It is the ultimate in subjective cinema - as near as damn it. For the most part, the camera is trained unblinkingly on the face of the lead actress, Isabelle Carré, as if mesmerised by her beauty and transfixed by the romantic possibilities she offers. And who can blame it - Carré is mouth-wateringly gorgeous.

It is certainly a radical departure from Philippe Harel's previous film, the mainstream comedy Les Randonneurs (1997), which proved to be a surprising box office hit. La Femme défendue is probably not the first film to be shot from one person's point of view but it presented immense challenges, to the director, his screenwriter Eric Assous and his camera crew. The result is a curiously likeable film with an almost indecent sense of intimacy, and once you have accustomed yourself to being stuck in Harel's head for the duration it is incredibly compelling.

Harel was fortunate to have an actress as talented as Isabelle Carré at his disposal.  Given that Carré's is the only face we see on the screen for any length of time, it's as well that she is such an expressive actress, capable of saying so much with the subtlest of gestures and never for a moment losing our interest. As in Zabou Breitman's Se souvenir des belles choses (2001) Carré is an object of fascination - we can see straight into her soul and are mesmerised by what we see. Harel, a very capable actor, plays the part of the male lead, but his face is glimpsed in only two very short sequences, and on both occasions we perversely expect to see our own face, not Harel's.  Such is the power of cinema. Absorbing and impressively original as the film is, it does make you feel somewhat uncomfortable. As you watch, you become awkwardly aware of your role as a voyeur sneaking your way into what is the most intimate of human relationships.

Film Synopsis

François and Muriel meet at a mutual friend's party.  He is 39, a businessman, married with a son.  She is 22 and lives alone, although she has a boyfriend, Pascal.  They agree to meet up again afterwards.  The relationship begins awkwardly, neither being sure whether it is love or friendship the other is offering.  François wants to take the relationship further, but Muriel resists, reluctant to get herself involved with a married man.  Finally, the young woman gives in to the older man's demands, but the affair still remains ambiguous and non-commital on both sides.

To keep all this from his wife Irène, François finds he must resort to lies, and meanwhile Muriel continues seeing Pascal.  The relationship becomes increasingly strained as the two lovers go on meeting and parting, each resenting the other for not willing to commit fully to the love affair.  To save his marriage, François ends up accompanying his wife on a long vacation to Mexico.  When he returns, he finds that Muriel has left Pascal and has started seeing another man, Romain...