Wonderful character development!

Good concept, poorly executed.

Am I Missing Something?

To all those who have watched it: I hope you enjoyed it as much as I do.

Silence, Talk, Silence, Talk and the again Silence, occasional dinners at different restaurants, the daily meeting to edit a book manuscript, routine and the mass of exception that goes along with it and the humans that meet in-between.Nelly & Monsieur is all that and more. It's about humans leading their lives as good as they can, they care for each other but in the end they all live their own quiet desperation. This probably sounds much worse than it is. Through the routine they get close to each other, express tenderness and affection for each other, but the exceptions never seem quite big enough to top what the routine gives.Still Nelly & Monsieur Arnaud is a delightful movie. It's a slice of life drama which isn't quite drama or really slice of life.During the entire movie something builds up, the yearning for a big leap of faith. When Nelly leaves her husband at the beginning of the movie it seems to be nothing much, it's over in about a minute and her husband does not claim much more of the running time. That's how it goes during the entire movie: What should be big changes in Nelly's life are written off as nothing much. In fact what triggers most emotional response from her are the routinely meetings with Monsieur Arnaud, a man perhaps 40 years older than her. In these routinely meetings they edit the book he wants to publish and they talk, they talk about themselves, their lives, their past, but also about the book... clearly something is building up… and this is where I'm going to tell you: "go see the movie to find out!", it's much worth a watch or perhaps some more.The conflict is clearly there, yet the movie never becomes overly dramatic, in fact it's quite restrained and that's what makes it so delightful. We witness all the characters meetings and their talk which is often comic, not in the way that you would loudly laugh, much rather in a way that could make the characters themselves chuckle, and in fact, they do. There's never done too much to drive the point home, that's the slice of life aspect about it. What makes it not so much slice of life is that it's actually about a very special part in both Nelly's and Monsieur Arnaud's life; both of their lives change drastically after their meeting.Nelly & Monsieur Arnaud delivers the atmosphere of all the afternoons when you're doing something rather unexceptional but still have a fine time. This movie will be a delight for people fond of such an atmosphere but even people who might not be especially enthralled by the atmosphere might still find joy in the careful treatment of the theme.If nothing convinced you yet I have to note that the acting of both Emmanuelle Béart (Nelly) and Michel Serrault (Monsieur Arnaud) is absolutely exceptional. Emmanuelle Béart delivers everything with her face, especially with her eyes. Michel Serrault has a stunning presence; he sustains a sense of mystery around his character without ever becoming sentimental.It's 8,5 from me and I deem it a great last movie for any director. Even though he was over 70 when he made it, Sautet still very much had it.

Nelly, a young Parisian woman, is married to Jerome, a man who for all appearances does not want to work. Whatever brought them together is keeping them apart, something that Nelly tells Jerome early on as they split. Nelly, who has had a few uninteresting jobs, even selling bread in a bakery, owes money that she will have to repay.Hope arrives as she and Jacqueline meet one day at a cafe. Looking from their table, Jacqueline notices an elderly man enter the place. She confesses to Nelly he is Monsieur Arnaud, who was her lover. Upon hearing Nelly's predicament, Arnaud offers her a job in helping him with the memoirs he has written and he is now revising before the work is published. Arnaud has led an interesting life as a judge in a French possession. With the job, Arnaud tells Nelly he will give her the money in order for her to repay what she owes.It is obvious Arnaud likes the young woman; he would like to have her, but he is too wise a man to realize he has no chance, or that their age difference, will be an obstacle. That is why Arnaud says nothing and acts instead in a subtle way, but ultimately the interest Nelly awakens in Vincent Granec, the editor in charge of the book, proves to be the thing that will work against him.Claude Sautet, the French director, who died right after this film was made, showed he had a great sense of style as well as telling a mature story for more sophisticated viewers. Mr. Sautet contributed to the screenplay, which leaves things to the audience to solve rather than solve the problem for us. Mr. Sautet left an impressive number of films for the delight of his followers.The best thing in the film is Michel Serrault. This versatile actor makes an impression with his subtle performance about a man that can still feel a passion, but is aware a liaison with Nelly will be fatal as far as getting the young woman to love him for what he is. Emmanuelle Beart also has a good opportunity as the shy woman that has been married to the wrong man. Although beautiful she only wears dowdy clothes, perhaps not to provoke the desire that might involve her in an affair she knows is not for her. One thing is clear, Ms. Beart, as a typist, or even a secretary, would not have been able to make a living, but in the make believe world of the movies, one wonders how those memoirs could have been typed since it is obvious she had no clue how to use a keyboard! Anyway, someone as beautiful as her, should never have to worry about those menial things. Jean-Hughes Anglade makes a valuable contribution as Granec, the man that falls in love with Nelly. Claire Nadeau and Francoise Brion, as well as Charles Berling are among the supporting players.

I guess the main reason for "Nelly" to be one of the most popular Eruopean movies of the last years is the presence of the Goddess Beart in each and every one of the sequences: her eyes, her mouth, her perfection. Without any make-up, without wonderful dresses... she does not need anything but her natural beauty to make Mr. Arnaud to fall in love her. He hires her as a personal assistant while he's writing his memoirs, but she'll end up being his closest confident. The connection between both of them is neither sexual nor platonic... it's something else. Maybe they're just kindred spirits that meet each other at the wrong time: he knows she's too young and beautiful to stay with him. It doesn't matter if she'd be willing to begin a relationship with Arnaud, 'cause the truth is that he won't let her beauty to fade in the company of an old man which has anything but memories.This is a sober and reflexive movie, that doesn't live up to its world wide fame (in my opinion); but, as I said before, the presence of Emmanuelle Beart worth watching it.*My rate: 7/10

"Nelly and Monsieur Arnaud" is all about a beautiful Parisian working woman (Emmanuelle Béart) and the men in her life. Suffering from marital ennui Nelly estranges herself from her husband and takes a job typing memoirs for an older Monsieur Arnaud as he dictates to her in his drawing room. During the course of the film we see a handful of miscellaneous characters come and go while Nelly has dinner, types, goes to a party, types, takes a swim, types, an does many more very mundane things. I was extremely disappointed in this film given its fine cast and excellent pedigree. An unfortunate drone of inconsequential busyness which ends abruptly and offers no reason for audience interest save sheer voyeurism, this film makes Nelly out to be a person without a single interesting thought in her lovely head. All in all, "Nelly and Monsieur" plays out like a whole lot of very nicely done nothingness. (C+)