Thursday 25 September 2014

Mademoiselle Chambon

On another day I might have really enjoyed the French film Mademoiselle Chambon. Everything unwinds very slowly. There isn't a lot of dialogue. The subtlety of the acting by leads Sandrine Kiberlain and Vincent Lindon is excellent: a look here, a glance there, a brief touch.

But as it happened I wasn't in the right mood. So I felt this was far too slow and laboured for a small return. At one point we cut to a scene where Jean is sitting in a bar... thinking... then we cut away again. Yawn.

I think the lack of drama, in the wider sense, doesn't help. It's just two people who form an attachment and then aren't sure if they want to take it any further. There will be consequences, of course, if they do; but we aren't really exposed to those. We are left to imagine their inner turmoil based on a few looks and the odd line of dialogue.

At the end it is almost as if Mademoiselle Chambon isn't actually a real person. But rather is simply a metaphor for the restlessness of middle-aged men.

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