23 reviews
- Chris Knipp
- Mar 18, 2009
- Permalink
This film is a hidden gem for the lovers of various French traditions: epistolary literature of 17th and 18th century, the breeze of French philosophy of love, friendship and education,, view at old traditional environment of Parisian schools mixed with contemporary teaching styles, love intrigues and tragic resolutions, etc. Without knowing its French context, its difficult to grasp the charm of this movie. Love relations are mostly temporary, no matter how intense they were. Still, in all that mess, from time to time, someone is always ready to die or to kill for it. That is the substance of French literature, art, philosophy, and its always over and over joy to observe it, in cinematic works like this. Especially with two eye-candies such as Lea Seydoux and Luis Garrel, who at the same time, happen to be good actors. Two songs played in French fit very well the movie, the other songs sung in English were actually total misfit. French film for the French culture lovers. Recommended for calm rainy afternoons.
This is a lovely, deliberate, melancholy look into the fairy-tale lives of pale, beautiful, preternaturally graceful high-school students in Paris - a dreamy, pearly, wintry Paris on which the harsh sun never, ever shines.
The Beautiful Person is so hypnotically beautiful that it drew me through the somewhat jarring adjustment I had to make from my placid late-middle-aged American world into theirs, which teems with sex and longing, but - Oh, my! - it was worth it. This movie is luxurious and delightful.
Some of those who do not like it may be unwilling or unable to make such a cultural adjustment, but those who do will be rewarded. Earlier reviews here encouraged me to hang in there through the rough patches in the beginning, when I could not even tell who was who and doing what with whom. Those reviews also hinted that I might be slightly disappointed after Christophe Honoré's last movie, the remarkable Love Songs (Les Chansons d'amour). I was not at all. This is a sadder movie, but it is no less deeply satisfying.
Like Love Songs, seeing this once is not enough: I need my own copy so I can watch it over and over. Also like Love Songs, I expect the pleasure it gives will grow richer with each viewing.
Something nice I just realized: there are no drugs in this movie, hardly any alcohol (none at all among the kids), no vomiting, no farting, no bullying, no mindless cruelty or grossness of any kind. In other words: This is not an American movie for American teenagers. It is probably not even a realistic view of Parisian teenagers (even they must have a few pimples), but realistic or not it is a joy to behold.
The Beautiful Person is so hypnotically beautiful that it drew me through the somewhat jarring adjustment I had to make from my placid late-middle-aged American world into theirs, which teems with sex and longing, but - Oh, my! - it was worth it. This movie is luxurious and delightful.
Some of those who do not like it may be unwilling or unable to make such a cultural adjustment, but those who do will be rewarded. Earlier reviews here encouraged me to hang in there through the rough patches in the beginning, when I could not even tell who was who and doing what with whom. Those reviews also hinted that I might be slightly disappointed after Christophe Honoré's last movie, the remarkable Love Songs (Les Chansons d'amour). I was not at all. This is a sadder movie, but it is no less deeply satisfying.
Like Love Songs, seeing this once is not enough: I need my own copy so I can watch it over and over. Also like Love Songs, I expect the pleasure it gives will grow richer with each viewing.
Something nice I just realized: there are no drugs in this movie, hardly any alcohol (none at all among the kids), no vomiting, no farting, no bullying, no mindless cruelty or grossness of any kind. In other words: This is not an American movie for American teenagers. It is probably not even a realistic view of Parisian teenagers (even they must have a few pimples), but realistic or not it is a joy to behold.
She runs away from abandonment, he runs away from his misery, other runs away from disappointment, from fear. No need to be told in words. Sometimes it could reach the cruelty and frivolity, but that might be the charm of the movie too.
If you get lost in translation, while watching this movie, it's because you didn't learn to the meaning of the words first. Not the kind of movie to start a journey with french cinema, but definitely a good one if you have already dived in the genre.
If you get lost in translation, while watching this movie, it's because you didn't learn to the meaning of the words first. Not the kind of movie to start a journey with french cinema, but definitely a good one if you have already dived in the genre.
I was expecting an intriguing and cool movie having kind of read the plot on wikipedia and having seen the lead actors (which I really like), but sadly I thought the movie was rather inconsistent, the temporal cuts were awful, the love between them was poorly depicted and acting was not so special. Overall I think it's an okay movie if you are watching it whilst doing something else (cause plot's not so thick) or if you want to take your mind off of things.
- paroles2000
- Jul 19, 2009
- Permalink
..yea.. she's a real winner... ..she teases and torments her 'friend' to his ultimate demise.. ..and with her other love interest, she feels very strongly about him, but must leave and go far, far away... for he is just too beautiful, and although he proclaims he loves her, in the end she knows he will ultimately leave her for another.. ..(and who decided to cast him in that role.. at times he looks and acts more like a student than they do).. ..all that, and a bunch of confusing side story lines, adding nothing at all to the main story.. ..the French have mastered these kinds of productions.. too bad in this one the efforts of a good number of talented young actors went to waste
Sadly on this site we get mostly American reviewers, and the fact that this film is set in an enclosed world and not one of an ' ordinary school ' seems to elude them. Christophe Honore, in this one of his most perfect films took on a brave task and that is in treating Madame de La Fayette's equally perfect ' Princesse de Cleves ' into a story relevant to the 21st C. I believe his achievement works brilliantly. and his setting of a classroom for a 17th C. Court. He quite rightly makes this a place where letters replace emails, and I for one adjusted to this immediately. The hermetic universe of passions, intrigue and tragedy is given more focus by not being ' real ' in the sense that a modern French classroom most certainly is. This is his genius in achieving total involvement by concentrating on the conflict of emotions, and also giving both heterosexual and homosexual desires and sentiments equal status. I am not sure what Madame de La Fayette would have thought of that, but although unspoken in her world it must have been part of it. The acting was superb, and the casting to me as right as the concept. It saddens me that the education in the Anglo-Saxon world is not as in touch with Classical literature and Philosophy as it is still in French schools and that to my knowledge this masterpiece is not available on DVD in the UK. It is a loss among so many losses as we move further and further away from mainland Europe and a true understanding of a film as great as this.
- jromanbaker
- Oct 28, 2019
- Permalink
When I first encountered this film upon arriving in France in 2008, my grasp of French was tenuous at best. Recommended by a date as an initiation into the intricacies of Parisian life and French identity, I absorbed its essence more through its visual tapestry than its dialogue. Nevertheless, its exploration of youth, love, loss, and tragedy struck a chord, despite a notably contrived poetry scene.
Years later, fluent in French and revisiting the film, I appreciated its cultural references and recognized every Parisian locale. Yet, while its emotional and sexual tensions remained compelling, its narrative seemed less relevant to my current stage of life. The adaptation of La Princesse de Clèves, while timely in its original context, no longer resonated with the depth it once did during my youth.
However, the film's strength lies in its nostalgic depiction of a bygone Paris, albeit one that may appear overly romanticized and out of step with contemporary cinematic depictions. Nevertheless, Paris continues to attract visitors seeking its nostalgic allure, and the film serves as a testament to the enduring appeal of recreating this enchanting past.
While somewhat overlooked, this film merits attention, particularly for those yet to experience its evocative portrayal of Parisian life.
Years later, fluent in French and revisiting the film, I appreciated its cultural references and recognized every Parisian locale. Yet, while its emotional and sexual tensions remained compelling, its narrative seemed less relevant to my current stage of life. The adaptation of La Princesse de Clèves, while timely in its original context, no longer resonated with the depth it once did during my youth.
However, the film's strength lies in its nostalgic depiction of a bygone Paris, albeit one that may appear overly romanticized and out of step with contemporary cinematic depictions. Nevertheless, Paris continues to attract visitors seeking its nostalgic allure, and the film serves as a testament to the enduring appeal of recreating this enchanting past.
While somewhat overlooked, this film merits attention, particularly for those yet to experience its evocative portrayal of Parisian life.
- ConditionsOfUse
- Jul 17, 2024
- Permalink
Christopher Honoré's La belle personne is a compelling curiosity; transposing the courtly world of Madame de La Fayette's classic 17th century story, La Princess de Cleves to a modern-day French lyceé (with its own courtyard), the film is a compelling observation of "courtly" love in a postmodern world; although it would be convincing to argue La belle personne is not very modern in its presentation of present-day bourgeoise Parisian etudiants. This is a world that exists in its own hermetically-sealed bubble, free from Facebook and the internet. It's a world where 60s navel-gazing reigns supreme.
The film follows the tribulations love brings, or perhaps more realistically, the tribulations of what one perceives as 'love', even if it's unconsummated. The title alludes to 17-year-old Junie (Léa Seydoux), whose aura and presence recalls a ghostly incarnation of Godard's muse Anna Karina (Perhaps a self-conscious homage to Godard by the FEMIS-teaching Honoré?). Following the death of her mother, Junie refuses to live with her father (for unknown reasons), choosing instead to live with her cousin, Mathias, in a haute-bourgeoisie Parisian arrondisement close to the school she and Mathias attend. ' Soon enough Junie becomes the default objet d'amour for the male etudiants, namely love-sick Otto (Grégoire Leprince-Ringuet) at first.
However, she soon troubles the cad-in-school Italian teacher, Nemours (the lanky yet ever-foppish Louis Garrel) with her otherworldly presence, prompting him to quickly end two amorous entanglements with a middle-aged fellow teacher and a stubborn 16-year-old female student. However, as one would expect fron the source material, tragedy foreshadows this story but it does not detract from this near-perfect made-for-TV drama.
Every performance is realistic and natural. Special kudos to Garrel and Sedoyx for their work here. Honore follows the mis-step that was Chansons D'amour with this elegant, masterfully composed concoction; even if you could argue La belle personne seems to be an inverse reworking of Chansons. With the ensemble of regulars (Garrel, Hesme, Mastroianni, Leprine-Ringuet etc), traversing both films, La belle personne perversely feels like a sequel somehow taking place in a parallel world to Chansons. In spite of some questionable if strained directorial nods to the Nouvelle Vague (mentioning them would spoil the end), Honoré shows restraint and an uncharacteristic sense of detachment. The way he directs Seydoux is a revelation. Her ghostly presence haunts the film in every aspect and should be noted as a performance of great integrity and resolve from this promising actress. As a modern-day exploration of courtly love, La belle personne, is worth seeing numerous times to catch the many subtleties it withholds on first viewing.
The film follows the tribulations love brings, or perhaps more realistically, the tribulations of what one perceives as 'love', even if it's unconsummated. The title alludes to 17-year-old Junie (Léa Seydoux), whose aura and presence recalls a ghostly incarnation of Godard's muse Anna Karina (Perhaps a self-conscious homage to Godard by the FEMIS-teaching Honoré?). Following the death of her mother, Junie refuses to live with her father (for unknown reasons), choosing instead to live with her cousin, Mathias, in a haute-bourgeoisie Parisian arrondisement close to the school she and Mathias attend. ' Soon enough Junie becomes the default objet d'amour for the male etudiants, namely love-sick Otto (Grégoire Leprince-Ringuet) at first.
However, she soon troubles the cad-in-school Italian teacher, Nemours (the lanky yet ever-foppish Louis Garrel) with her otherworldly presence, prompting him to quickly end two amorous entanglements with a middle-aged fellow teacher and a stubborn 16-year-old female student. However, as one would expect fron the source material, tragedy foreshadows this story but it does not detract from this near-perfect made-for-TV drama.
Every performance is realistic and natural. Special kudos to Garrel and Sedoyx for their work here. Honore follows the mis-step that was Chansons D'amour with this elegant, masterfully composed concoction; even if you could argue La belle personne seems to be an inverse reworking of Chansons. With the ensemble of regulars (Garrel, Hesme, Mastroianni, Leprine-Ringuet etc), traversing both films, La belle personne perversely feels like a sequel somehow taking place in a parallel world to Chansons. In spite of some questionable if strained directorial nods to the Nouvelle Vague (mentioning them would spoil the end), Honoré shows restraint and an uncharacteristic sense of detachment. The way he directs Seydoux is a revelation. Her ghostly presence haunts the film in every aspect and should be noted as a performance of great integrity and resolve from this promising actress. As a modern-day exploration of courtly love, La belle personne, is worth seeing numerous times to catch the many subtleties it withholds on first viewing.
Implausible, confusing, fast, vapid, pretentious, and ridiculous.
You don't get to know the characters, you don't care about any of them.
The movie moves too fast, so you don't connect with the characters, or with the events, either.
The characters fall in love and cheat, barely knowing each other. It's like a catwalk of inane love at first sight.
Everything moves so fast that you can't help but laugh at most scenes; especially when the characters start crying for no apparent reason. Maybe the movie could've taken a second to actually develop the story instead of showing one event after the other like a recap of last week's episode.
Good music is not enough to make a movie; quoting a famous novel is not enough, if the result is hard to watch.
You don't get to know the characters, you don't care about any of them.
The movie moves too fast, so you don't connect with the characters, or with the events, either.
The characters fall in love and cheat, barely knowing each other. It's like a catwalk of inane love at first sight.
Everything moves so fast that you can't help but laugh at most scenes; especially when the characters start crying for no apparent reason. Maybe the movie could've taken a second to actually develop the story instead of showing one event after the other like a recap of last week's episode.
Good music is not enough to make a movie; quoting a famous novel is not enough, if the result is hard to watch.
- pihixa-68660
- Jul 11, 2023
- Permalink
After her mother's death, a pretty teenage girl (Lea Seydoux) moves in with relatives and attends school with her male cousin. She quickly gets embroiled in the dizzying affairs of her cousin's clique of friends and young teachers. There are straight affairs, gay affairs, straight love triangles, gay love triangles, bisexual love triangles, teacher-student affairs, teacher-student love triangles--really you need some kind of chart to keep track of it all. "Junie", the protagonist, first gets involved with "Otto", the shy odd-man-out in all these sexual shenanigans (perhaps because he's the only one with a decent haircut), but she soon finds herself drawn to the young Italian teacher (Louis Garrel), who is already involved with another student in the clique AND a fellow teacher.
This kind of sounds like a French bedroom farce--especially a scene where one character drops a lurid love letter from his pocket and everyone thinks it belongs to the Italian teacher, leading to all kinds of misunderstandings. But this movie is actually very moody and gloomy--even tragic at one point. All these liaisons don't seem to leave anyone very happy. In that respect this kind of reminded me of Catherine Breillat film, but it also has a surprising lack of sex scenes (aside from one strange scene where Seydoux bares her breasts for her boyfriend in what looks to be a school hallway or the streets of Paris). It is also strangely anachronistic. It's a modern-day film judging from the occasional use of cell phones, but the characters still pass notes instead of text messaging. And I guess it must be perfectly legal in France for teachers to carry on with students because no one even remarks on it. (Of course, everyone here LOOKS like they're in their twenties). I guess France is just a different place--at least their movies certainly are.
Seydoux is pretty good here even if her character is frustratingly opaque. She and Anais Demoustier (who has a small part in this and would appear with Seydoux again later in a similar film called "Le Belle Epine") might be the only girls prettier than their male co-star Louis Garrel, who has appeared in seemingly every other French film since making his mark in Catherine Breillat's 2007 film "The Last Mistress". It is Seydoux though who is perhaps on the verge of true international fame with a starring role in "Farewell, My Queen" and in the upcoming Cannes-winner "Blue is the Warmest Color". This is kind of strange movie for a lot of reasons, but it's also actually pretty good.
This kind of sounds like a French bedroom farce--especially a scene where one character drops a lurid love letter from his pocket and everyone thinks it belongs to the Italian teacher, leading to all kinds of misunderstandings. But this movie is actually very moody and gloomy--even tragic at one point. All these liaisons don't seem to leave anyone very happy. In that respect this kind of reminded me of Catherine Breillat film, but it also has a surprising lack of sex scenes (aside from one strange scene where Seydoux bares her breasts for her boyfriend in what looks to be a school hallway or the streets of Paris). It is also strangely anachronistic. It's a modern-day film judging from the occasional use of cell phones, but the characters still pass notes instead of text messaging. And I guess it must be perfectly legal in France for teachers to carry on with students because no one even remarks on it. (Of course, everyone here LOOKS like they're in their twenties). I guess France is just a different place--at least their movies certainly are.
Seydoux is pretty good here even if her character is frustratingly opaque. She and Anais Demoustier (who has a small part in this and would appear with Seydoux again later in a similar film called "Le Belle Epine") might be the only girls prettier than their male co-star Louis Garrel, who has appeared in seemingly every other French film since making his mark in Catherine Breillat's 2007 film "The Last Mistress". It is Seydoux though who is perhaps on the verge of true international fame with a starring role in "Farewell, My Queen" and in the upcoming Cannes-winner "Blue is the Warmest Color". This is kind of strange movie for a lot of reasons, but it's also actually pretty good.
- gselin-38754
- Apr 1, 2020
- Permalink
- sklodowskacuriemarie
- Nov 15, 2018
- Permalink
and that pretty well sums up the deepest message of this adaptation of "La Princesse de Clèves". Having seen this at the 33rd Cleveland International Film Festival, I will admit to not having an appreciation of Christophe Honore's other work, have not read the book, nor did I recognize any of the actors. The film is put together reasonably well technically. Everyone is young, thin and good-looking, with many a fine pout below a classic Gallic countenance. There were (too) many relationships to track on a first viewing, and I did not understand the motivation for most of the characters. Why does everyone fall in love with Junie? Why does she break down and cry in class? As a high school-age tale, the self-absorbed interpersonal world is apt, with enough sexual tension and romantic intrigue to satisfy the requirements of this genre.
- wilhelm-22
- Nov 15, 2009
- Permalink
I honestly thought I was watching a film from the 60s until I looked it up on IMDb. Everything rung of the 60s from the washed-out color palette (lots of white, grey and cold bluish tints) to the inexplicably brooding, emotionally muted female protagonist who falls into a love tangle (as in Buñuel's "Belle du Jour" (1967) or Vadim's "Le repos du guerrier" (1962)) to the very 60s French soundtrack (Nick Drake, Alain Barrière, Callas) to the big hairstyles on men. And of course there are heavy themes of love & sexuality, common to those classic French films that defined the genre "60s French film". Imagine my surprise when I learned that this film was made in 2008 from a novel (La Princesse de Clèves) set in 1558 in the court of King Henry II of France.
I have to admit, I didn't like this film at first. Coming from a relatively puritanical culture, it didn't sit well with me that the film was about a 30-something high school teacher trying to seduce a 16-year old student. But if you can get past that, and if you can get past the premise that each character has 2 to 3 paramours in a tangled web that would make Shakespeare resort to his slide rule, then you'll be OK. This is very much a tale of loose sexual morals, but that is precisely the intent. The question posed is: can 1 true love exist, free of all the scandalous infidelities & betrayals, or is human nature such that impetuous desires and unchecked emotions always cause sexual & emotional chaos?
You may find yourself needing to watch this film a 2nd time or, as I had to do, rewinding certain scenes to figure out exactly who is who, especially if you're watching the English subtitles. That is because the love triangles (and love rectangles and love pentagons) come at you pretty fast with no big explanations for the slow folks in the audience. But even if it doesn't sink in at first, you'll probably have a decent grasp by the end of the film if you pay close attention. While I found this to be frustrating at first, I felt ultimately satisfied that the director took this approach, not holding our hand to lead us through every plot point. Instead, like the web of love & deceit itself, the plot is intended to be challenging if not confusing.
In the 2nd half, the story distills down to the main 3 characters, and the final 30 mins pack a whollop. My only real criticism is that it seemed to drag on 10 minutes beyond the dramatic climax & revelation, thereby watering down the effect of that powerful scene. Other than that, I found this to be a masterful telling of a tale that begins slowly, convoluted & seemingly uneventful, but then it snowballs to a rich and satisfying closure.
I have to admit, I didn't like this film at first. Coming from a relatively puritanical culture, it didn't sit well with me that the film was about a 30-something high school teacher trying to seduce a 16-year old student. But if you can get past that, and if you can get past the premise that each character has 2 to 3 paramours in a tangled web that would make Shakespeare resort to his slide rule, then you'll be OK. This is very much a tale of loose sexual morals, but that is precisely the intent. The question posed is: can 1 true love exist, free of all the scandalous infidelities & betrayals, or is human nature such that impetuous desires and unchecked emotions always cause sexual & emotional chaos?
You may find yourself needing to watch this film a 2nd time or, as I had to do, rewinding certain scenes to figure out exactly who is who, especially if you're watching the English subtitles. That is because the love triangles (and love rectangles and love pentagons) come at you pretty fast with no big explanations for the slow folks in the audience. But even if it doesn't sink in at first, you'll probably have a decent grasp by the end of the film if you pay close attention. While I found this to be frustrating at first, I felt ultimately satisfied that the director took this approach, not holding our hand to lead us through every plot point. Instead, like the web of love & deceit itself, the plot is intended to be challenging if not confusing.
In the 2nd half, the story distills down to the main 3 characters, and the final 30 mins pack a whollop. My only real criticism is that it seemed to drag on 10 minutes beyond the dramatic climax & revelation, thereby watering down the effect of that powerful scene. Other than that, I found this to be a masterful telling of a tale that begins slowly, convoluted & seemingly uneventful, but then it snowballs to a rich and satisfying closure.
- amyazzopardi
- Mar 4, 2016
- Permalink
I know as an older American it may be I simply don't get at French high schoolers act these days. But even the adults in this film seem foolish. The characters are sketchily drawn, and the plot is thin with illogical twists and stretches that test your patience.
The one redeeming feature is Léa Seydoux. Her character may be unfathomable as the rest, but at least it's understandable why everyone keeps on falling in love with her. She's also a rather amazing actor; hard to tell it here but her performance in Blue Is the Warmest Color was terrific, and not because we get to see her naked a lot.
One other thing that bothered me about this film was that almost all the actors were so good-looking. I'm sure French high schools have a certain percentage of uglies as everywhere else.
The one redeeming feature is Léa Seydoux. Her character may be unfathomable as the rest, but at least it's understandable why everyone keeps on falling in love with her. She's also a rather amazing actor; hard to tell it here but her performance in Blue Is the Warmest Color was terrific, and not because we get to see her naked a lot.
One other thing that bothered me about this film was that almost all the actors were so good-looking. I'm sure French high schools have a certain percentage of uglies as everywhere else.
Worst movie on earth... There is no consistency in the story, subplots are brough out of nowhere and nevef come back, its so illogical.
- vivi-87537
- Nov 18, 2018
- Permalink
No matter how well regarded a movie may be in on capacity or another, not every title will meet with equal success for every viewer. I admire the aim of filmmaker Christophe Honoré, evidently making this in response to a dust-up stemming from remarks by then-French president Nicolas Sarkozy. I think it's broadly well made from a technical standpoint, the cast is swell, and I like the music selected for the soundtrack.
I'd like to say I have more concrete praise to offer for 'La belle personne,' but frankly I'm coming up short. I can't remark on a novel I'm not personally familiar with, but I trust that Honoré and Gilles Taurand's screenplay is a reasonably faithful modern adaptation of 'La Princesse de Clèves.' I trust that Madame de La Fayette's novel is one that would be enjoyable and worth reading on its own merits. This film, however, does not impress.
The plot feels to me like nothing more than a vague, halfhearted, weak-kneed tableau of love gone astray in various ways at a high school. In my opinion it lacks even the potential to be more than that since Honoré's direction renders the tale with a flat, grey, even-keeled tone that means the drama just passes right on by, very unremarkable as it presents. Scenes are orchestrated, and dialogue written, with a blandness that makes it difficult at times to even discern which character is supposedly pining for another, or upset at another, or why. None of this is helped by - well, not the actors, but the casting. Folks: diversity is important in film-making. All the primary cast members are white; multiple male actors possess hair color, hair styles, dark eyes, and facial structures that are nearly identical, and one is marginally more distinguishable only because his hair is a little bigger. Who is who? Who is feeling what about whom? What, specifically, is the drama that we're not actually feeling? I'm not entirely sure. And there came a point where I also just didn't care. For all this, when the storytelling does distinctly (and sparingly) ramp up within the last third, it seems to come out of nowhere, and it doesn't especially matter.
There are five elements of 'La belle personne' that stand out to me in one way or another, in no particular order. The first is Honoré's inspiration. The second is a reference to the opera 'Lucia di Lammermoor'; I haven't seen many operas, but I absolutely love 'Lucia.' The third is the introduction of LGBTQ characters. The fourth is an instance of nudity. The fifth is a gaudy, laughably bad embellishment to the final few moments before the end credits roll. None of these have any significant bearing on the quality of this feature, or its possible entertainment value. I recognize a narrative that on paper should have been impactful and meaningful on some level, and enjoyable as a viewer, and I trust that it would be and has been so elsewhere. As it is, however, in my opinion this 2008 picture communicates its plot poorly, and is worse still at conveying those feelings that the plot should theoretically evoke. As has been true with other titles my first impulse was to say "I don't dislike this, I'm indifferent, and that's maybe worse." Yet for as feeble as this is in its storytelling, and given Honoré's intent to show that the source material matters in the twenty-first century? Well, sorry, but "dislike" is the appropriate verbiage after all.
I'd like to say I have more concrete praise to offer for 'La belle personne,' but frankly I'm coming up short. I can't remark on a novel I'm not personally familiar with, but I trust that Honoré and Gilles Taurand's screenplay is a reasonably faithful modern adaptation of 'La Princesse de Clèves.' I trust that Madame de La Fayette's novel is one that would be enjoyable and worth reading on its own merits. This film, however, does not impress.
The plot feels to me like nothing more than a vague, halfhearted, weak-kneed tableau of love gone astray in various ways at a high school. In my opinion it lacks even the potential to be more than that since Honoré's direction renders the tale with a flat, grey, even-keeled tone that means the drama just passes right on by, very unremarkable as it presents. Scenes are orchestrated, and dialogue written, with a blandness that makes it difficult at times to even discern which character is supposedly pining for another, or upset at another, or why. None of this is helped by - well, not the actors, but the casting. Folks: diversity is important in film-making. All the primary cast members are white; multiple male actors possess hair color, hair styles, dark eyes, and facial structures that are nearly identical, and one is marginally more distinguishable only because his hair is a little bigger. Who is who? Who is feeling what about whom? What, specifically, is the drama that we're not actually feeling? I'm not entirely sure. And there came a point where I also just didn't care. For all this, when the storytelling does distinctly (and sparingly) ramp up within the last third, it seems to come out of nowhere, and it doesn't especially matter.
There are five elements of 'La belle personne' that stand out to me in one way or another, in no particular order. The first is Honoré's inspiration. The second is a reference to the opera 'Lucia di Lammermoor'; I haven't seen many operas, but I absolutely love 'Lucia.' The third is the introduction of LGBTQ characters. The fourth is an instance of nudity. The fifth is a gaudy, laughably bad embellishment to the final few moments before the end credits roll. None of these have any significant bearing on the quality of this feature, or its possible entertainment value. I recognize a narrative that on paper should have been impactful and meaningful on some level, and enjoyable as a viewer, and I trust that it would be and has been so elsewhere. As it is, however, in my opinion this 2008 picture communicates its plot poorly, and is worse still at conveying those feelings that the plot should theoretically evoke. As has been true with other titles my first impulse was to say "I don't dislike this, I'm indifferent, and that's maybe worse." Yet for as feeble as this is in its storytelling, and given Honoré's intent to show that the source material matters in the twenty-first century? Well, sorry, but "dislike" is the appropriate verbiage after all.
- I_Ailurophile
- Apr 22, 2023
- Permalink