NELLY & MONSIEUR ARNAUD
A film review by James Berardinelli
Copyright 1996 James Berardinelli
RATING (0 TO 10): 7.5 Alternative Scale: *** out of ****
France, 1995 U.S. Release Date: beginning 4/96 (limited) Running Length: 1:46 MPAA Classification: No MPAA Rating (Mature themes) Theatrical Aspect Ratio: 1.66:1
Cast: Emmanuelle Beart, Michel Serrault, Jean-Hugues Anglade, Claire Nadeau, Francoise Brion, Michele Laroque, Michel Lonsdale, Charles Berling, Jean-Pierre Lorit Director: Claude Sautet Producer: Alain Sarde Screenplay: Claude Sautet, Jacques Fieschi, and Yves Ulmann Cinematography: Jean-Francois Robin Music: Philippe Sarde
There's a line near the end of NELLY & MONSIEUR ARNAUD that, for me, sums up the entire movie: "We all want love, but when we find it, we pull back. It scares us." Claude Sautet's feature is about the mysteries of the human heart and mind, and, while it doesn't pack the same emotional power as his 1992 film, UN COEUR EN HIVER, it deals with many of the same subjects in an equally intelligent manner.
Some complain that Sautet's films are too intellectual, but, like Eric Rohmer, the film maker uses conversation to delve deeply into the core of his characters. You don't start out feeling much for the men and women who populate his films, but, by the final reel, you empathize with them all. In NELLY & MONSIEUR ARNAUD, Sautet injects the finale with a bitter dash of irony -- it's an unexpected twist that underscores his main theme.
Nelly (the enchanting Emmanuelle Beart) is trapped in a dying marriage with her husband, Jerome (Charles Berling). While he vegetates at home watching TV, she goes out and gets odd jobs, trying to earn enough money to dig them out of a 30,000-franc financial hole. One day, Nelly's friend, Jacqueline (Claire Nadeau), introduces her to an elderly acquaintance, Pierre Arnaud (Michel Serrault). Nelly and M. Arnaud talk for a while, and he offers her both a loan to cover her debts and a job typing and editing his memoirs. She accepts. Soon, the pair are spending several hours a day together, unwittingly becoming deeply involved in each other's lives as their outside relationships grow pale.
NELLY & MONSIEUR ARNAUD is as close to a perfectly-acted motion picture as is likely to be found. Emmanuelle Beart (MANON OF THE SPRING, MISSION IMPOSSIBLE), one of today's most attractive and accomplished French actresses, emotes as much with her eyes and gestures as with her words. There's a scene where the slight cock of her head gives a poignant negative answer to the question, "Are you happy?" Her co-star, Michel Serrault, matches her scene-for-scene with a towering performance of often restrained, but occasionally unleashed, passion. Jean-Hughes Anglade (as Arnaud's editor and Nelly's lover) and Claire Nadeau are solid in supporting roles.
It's easy to see NELLY & MONSIEUR ARNAUD as a May/December romance, but it's more than that. It's about longing for the forbidden fruit, shielding oneself from disappointment, and holding back from the thing most wanted. Sometimes love involves passion; on other occasions, the two are separate. As in Kieslowski's RED, the relationship between the beautiful, young woman and the aging ex-judge runs far deeper than a term like "friendship" can adequately describe.
Sautet's film was nominated for a ton of Cesar awards. It won two: best director for Sautet and best actor for Serrault. Both are deserved. This is a leisurely, compelling look at emotions that are common to all human beings. When Nelly confesses to M. Arnaud that he's a part of her life now, she speaks for them both. Like a couple that has been together for years, they confide in each other, quarrel, and reconcile. They are well-matched in every way except age.
There are times when NELLY & MONSIEUR ARNAUD seems a little sterile, and several secondary relationships don't consistently engage the audience. But when Beart and Serrault are together on screen, they make the most unusual kind of magic. These are two great actors giving top-notch performances, and the restrained romance they project is fascinating. It's this quality, more than any other, that makes NELLY & MONSIEUR ARNAUD a rewarding motion picture.
- James Berardinelli e-mail: berardin@bc.cybernex.net web: http://www.cybernex.net/~berardin
The review above was posted to the
rec.arts.movies.reviews newsgroup (de.rec.film.kritiken for German reviews).
The Internet Movie Database accepts no responsibility for the contents of the
review and has no editorial control. Unless stated otherwise, the copyright
belongs to the author.
Please direct comments/criticisms of the review to relevant newsgroups.
Broken URLs inthe reviews are the responsibility of the author.
The formatting of the review is likely to differ from the original due
to ASCII to HTML conversion.
Related links: index of all rec.arts.movies.reviews reviews