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Review by: Allison Browning | Rating:
Two
ONLY the French can make a whorehouse look sexy. Nathalie is
full of sumptuous imagery (barr Gerard Depardieu, who is getting
more rotund with each film!) and leads its viewer on a titillating
journey that drifts off without conclusions.
When her husband, Bernard (Depardieu), fails to show up for his
surprise birthday party, the elegant Catherine (Fanny Ardant)
thinks nothing of it until she listens to the messages on his
mobile phone and discovers he was with another woman.
After a slow and icey confrontation, lacking a great deal of
emotion, Catherine decides to deal with the situation in her own
way.
A tentative entrance into a local 'gentleman's club' leads to
her meeting the sexy sliver of a hooker, Nathalie (Emmanuelle
Beart).
Nathalie is to report back to Catherine after each meeting with
Bernard, where she is paid to reveal extravagant stories of her
sexual escapades.
What ensues is a delicate relationship between Catherine and
Nathalie with the balance often tipped.
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You’re never sure of Catherine's
motivation. Is she turned on by the stories, testing Bernard,
or curious about his desires beyond what she knows?
Ardent is truly captivating as the strong Catherine, delivering
a silent depth to a woman struggling to make sense of her feelings.
Director, Anne Fontaine, does manage to keep the viewer engaged
despite the plot becoming a touch drawn out after too many scenes
where Nathalie describes her interludes with Bernard.
However, the forever-pouting (frustratingly!) Beart arrests the
viewer's attention in an atmosphere filled with sex and sensual
imagery.
Fontaine chooses not to delve into the reality of the tough issues
of infidelity and prostitution head on, so instead, Nathalie veers
into a tale focusing on the unusual bond between two vastly different
women, thereby leaving the audience to decide how they cope with
these universal themes.
It is the relationship between these women that is most interesting,
particularly as most films of this nature opt to portray a relationship
between man and call-girl.
Nathalie presents something different, a new dynamic between
wife and hooker and the complex issues it raises.
Fontaine's exploration of this is, perhaps, a touch removed from
reality at times, but nevertheless refreshing.
Rather than a barrage of 'we've seen it all before' sex scenes,
Fontaine presents a gentle tension and growing bond between two
women bound by their circumstances.
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