Film Review
Place Vendôme has the same alluring cold beauty of a faultless diamond, as
mesmerising as it is bewildering. It belongs to a new breed of French film noir,
evoking the essence of classic film noir with its multi-layered plot and complex, morally
ambiguous characters, but adding an extra dimension of sophistication and simmering, understated
menace.
Whilst
Place Vendôme is big on style it is less satisfying from the point
of view of plot or characterisation. To some extent, the plot is almost irrelevant
to the film, which is far more concerned with showing us how individuals cope with their
predicaments. The problem is that whilst the film manages to hold our attention
it does not really allow us to understand the protagonists and ultimately only one character,
Marianne, appears fully developed and believable - although this is partly down to an
exceptional performance from Catherine Deneuve.
Although in some ways a superficial and often perplexing film,
Place Vendôme
is beautifully filmed, employing some often breathtaking cinematography. The
film works because it creates its own ground rules as it goes along and the dreamlike
experience it creates for the spectator is both fresh and unsettling. The impression
is one of a film taking placing in the mind of its principal protagonist (Marianne) rather
than in the real world. Perhaps if its director Nicole Garcia had been a little
more adventurous and gone further down this path, this might have been a work of unequivocal
artistic merit. As it is,
Place Vendôme is still a compelling
and noteworthy film, which has received wide-spread critical acclaim and was nominated
in virtually every category at the Césars Awards Ceremony in 1999.
© James Travers 2002
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Next Nicole Garcia film:
L'Adversaire (2002)
Film Synopsis
Vincent Malivert, the head of a leading jewellery firm on the Place Vendôme
in Paris, finds himself in deep water when he becomes implicated in a large-scale
jewel trafficking operation orchestrated by a shady Russian cartel.
Already in difficult because of a shortage of liquidity, Malivert cannot
cope with this latest crisis and is driven to kill himself. He leaves
behind his wife of twenty years, Marianne, who has spent much of the last
decade in an out of rest homes, as she is severely afflicted with depression
and alcoholism. Unable to account for her husband's suicide, Marianne
has her curiosity further aroused when she finds a valuable set of perfect
diamonds in his safe. The mysterious diamonds draw considerable interest
from Marianne's immediate entourage - most notably her brother-in-law and
her husband's dependable vendeuse Nathalie.
The latter's present partner, Jean-Pierre, offers the widow his support,
as a pretext for keeping tabs on her. It isn't long before Marianne
discovers that the Russian cartel is being driven by her former lover, Battistelli.
It was twenty years ago that the latter involved her in a crooked scheme
that went badly wrong. As Battistelli fled to avoid arrest, Marianne
was left to carry the can, but thankfully Vincent Malivert was there to come
to her aid. This was how they met, and a short while later Marianne
and Vincent were man and wife. Now it seems history is repeating itself,
only this time Battistelli is partnered with Nathalie, his latest mistress.
Marianne has every reason to hate Battistelli - he was after all the man
who led her to become trapped in a loveless marriage for the best part of
her life. But rather than pursue a campaign of revenge, Marianne opts
for a different course, and in doing so she finally succeeds in exorcising
her personal demons...
© James Travers
The above content is owned by filmsdefrance.com and must not be copied.