La Vengeance d'une femme (1990)
Directed by Jacques Doillon

Film Review

It is widely acknowledged that a woman's vengeance can be a terrible thing but in Jacques Doillon's extremely minimalist drama La Vengeance d'une femme a woman's attempt at avenging the death of her partner is more mystifying than terrible, such are the profound complexities of the female psyche. It isn't even clear who the woman in question is - both of the women in the film have reasons to blame the other for the sudden death of her lover and they seem to be equally complicit in the series of mind games they subject each other to, developing as they do so an intimate rapport that looks suspiciously like the beginning of a lesbian love affair. Exceptional performances from Isabelle Huppert and Béatrice Dalle make this one of Doillon's darkest and most fascinating explorations of love and regret, as drastically sparse as Jean Eustache's La Maman et la putain (1973) and just as absorbing. The film's languorous pace and ample run time make it less accessible than some of the director's previous films - Un sac de billes (1975), La Drôlesse (1979), La Fille de 15 ans (1989) - but, if you stick with it, it more than repays the effort. La Vengeance d'une femme is a subtle but profound film that should earn Doillon a place alongside Ingmar Bergman and Yasujiro Ozu as one of cinema's most perceptive observers of human nature.

Film Synopsis

A young woman, Suzy, returns to Paris to attend the funeral of her lover, André.  By chance, she meets up with André's wife, Cecile, and the two open their hearts to share each other's grief.  As Suzy becomes dependent on Cecile's support to counter her grief, Cecile plays a psychological game to try to get Suzy to admit responsibility for Andre's suicide.  The vengeance of a woman can be a terrible thing...