POST COITUM
A Film Review by James Berardinelli
RATING: ** OUT OF ****
France, 1997
U.S. Release Date: beginning 3/98 (limited)
Running Length: 1:37
MPAA Classification: No MPAA Rating (Graphic sexuality, nudity,
profanity)
Theatrical Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1
Cast: Brigitte Roüan, Boris Terral, Patrick Chesnais, Jean-Louis Richard, Nils Tavernier, Françoise Arnoul Director: Brigitte Roüan Producer: Humbert Balsan Screenplay: Santiago Amigorena, Jean-Louis Richard, Brigitte Roüan, Guy Zylberstein Cinematography: Pierre Dupouey Music: Michel Musseau, Umberto Tozzi U.S. Distributor: New Yorker Films In French with subtitles
One of the great things about movies is the depth of emotion they are capable of conveying. In THE SWEET HEREAFTER, we feel the wrenching loss of a town stripped of its children. In BLUE, we suffer alongside a woman on a quest to assuage her grief. In UN COEUR EN HIVER and THE REMAINS OF THE DAY, we are suffused by the frustration that comes from emotional paralysis. As unforgettable as these and countless other films are, there's a flip-side to this kind of power, and it's most evident when a picture tries unsuccessfully to tap into our emotions. POST COITUM (the full title, truncated for American release, is POST COITUM, ANIMAL TRISTE, or, literally translated, AFTER SEX, ANIMAL SADNESS) is such a movie -- weak, superficial, and unconvincing, it turns what could have been a searing experience into a trite, overwrought melodrama.
The problems begin at the outset, with a quartet of scenes seemingly designed to baffle even the most astute viewer. The first is of a cat meowing and sensuously stretching as it rolls across a floor. Then we see a half-naked woman, who turns out to be protagonist Diane Clovier (Brigitte Rouan), writhing in agony on her bed. Cut to an elderly couple preparing to eat dinner -- suddenly, the woman, Madame Lepluche (Francoise Arnoul), stabs her husband in the throat with a fork, killing him. Next, Diane, no longer in the throes of emotional turmoil, but in complete possession of herself and dressed smartly, enters a darkened apartment and proceeds to wake up a man named Francois (Nils Tavernier), his girlfriend, and his room mate, Emilio (Boris Terral).
Eventually, it becomes clear what's going on. The bulk of the movie, which centers on the May-December affair between the young, virile Emilio (a twenty-something hydraulic engineer), and the mature, married Diane (a forty-something book publisher), is presented in flashback from the perspective of the woman, who is unable to cope with the end of this relationship. At the same time, we are told the story of Madame Lepluche, a client of Diane's lawyer husband, Philippe (Patrick Chesnais), who, after 43 years of marriage, killed her spouse rather than letting him divorce her. These disparate plot elements, which begin widely-separated in time, tone, and intent, eventually converge as the film moves through a sometimes-tedious final half-hour towards an awkward conclusion.
Director Brigitte Rouan, who also plays the lead role, fails in two key areas: she never creates believable, three-dimensional characters and she doesn't delve sufficiently deeply beneath the surface of a shallow plot. We are supposed to feel Diane's joy and exuberance at re- discovering her lost youth and sexuality when the affair begins, then join her on a descent into near-madness and alcoholism after Emilio dumps her. Unfortunately, Diane isn't a credible character -- she is sketchily developed, and this led to a profound lack of interest on my part about her fate once she switched into the self-destructive mode. Approached differently, this story could have been devastating, but Rouan elects to keep everything surface-deep rather than exploring the murky wellspring of emotional pain that drives Diane. As a result, instead of reaching into the territory inhabited by the likes of LEAVING LAS VEGAS, POST COITUM comes across as nothing more compelling than a 97-minute soap opera. It's heavy-handed, obvious, and not the least bit moving.
The acting can best be described as uneven. Rouan gives a raw, courageous performance, showing Diane in modes that range from unchecked lust to rampant self-pity, but the strength of the actress' passion does not guarantee consistently effective work, and she has a tendency to go over-the-top (especially in those awful scenes that bookend and punctuate the flashbacks). As Emilio, Boris Terral is bland. Aside from his good looks, he doesn't bring much to the part -- it's difficult to see this character as anything more than a function of the plot. Rouan needs someone for Diane to have the fling with, but she never develops him into something more substantial than a generic younger lover. More impressive than the two leads are the primary supporting characters. Patrick Chesnais creates the film's only sympathetic and original individual -- as Diane's husband, he's torn between anger at his wife's betrayal, jealousy that she comes alive for another man, and impotence that he can do nothing to assuage the consuming pain she feels when her lover leaves her. Finally, as Francois, the writer who relies upon Diane for his artistic inspiration, Nils Tavernier gives a solid performance in an underwritten part.
Rouan's intentions are obvious -- she wanted this film to be an autopsy of both sides of an unexpected, all-consuming passion: exhilaration and devastation. However, the script betrays her, and POST COITUM wallows in half-baked melodrama with a character who seems to be hugely overreacting to the end of a short affair (it's Rouan's duty to convey why Diane's collapse is well-motivated, but she never does this - - instead, she relies on the real-life experiences of her viewers to fill in the blanks). POST COITUM almost seems like some kind of cinematic shorthand for a more ambitious project. We see what Rouan is striving for, but, at the same time, recognize that she hasn't achieved it. So, like all shorthand, this has more meaning to the author than to anyone else.
Copyright 1998 James Berardinelli
- James Berardinelli e-mail: berardin@mail.cybernex.net
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