Just so...so bad

I saw this movie before reading any reviews, and I thought it was very funny. I was very surprised to see the overwhelmingly negative reviews this film received from critics.

I think this is a new genre that they're all sort of working their way through it and haven't got all the kinks worked out yet but it's a genre that works for me.

If you're interested in the topic at hand, you should just watch it and judge yourself because the reviews have gone very biased by people that didn't even watch it and just hate (or love) the creator. I liked it, it was well written, narrated, and directed and it was about a topic that interests me.

Louis Malle tells the story of a beautiful and bored young woman, Jeanne Moreau, who lives in Dijon and frequently visits Paris to mix and mingle with a crowd that might be from Fellini's La Dolce Vita for its emptiness and boredom. She has it all: her husband is a well established local newspaper publisher in Dijon, her lover is a Polo's playing would be aristocrat. When car trouble stops her return to Dijon, she is helped by a young and idealistic archeologist who drives a wimpy Citroen 2CV. After a painful dinner with her husband, her lover and the young idealist, she seduces the young man. The choice of music is perfect: Brahms Sextet No.1 in B flat Major, in its dark and sensual second movement. The protracted love scene is filmed in the outdoors (first) with a naive day-by-night filter. The love scene in Ms. Moreau's room is unique and a true novelty in mainstream cinema. Kudos to the Supreme Court of the USA when it ruled it was not pornography.

This film did not blow me away as it did so many others.One significant flaw is the utter lack of chemistry between Jeanne (Jeanne Moreau) and Bernard (the homely Jean-Marc Bory). Jeanne couldn't stop laughing at Bernard's calling her husband a bear? Pul-eeeeese! The sex scene, considered racy in 1958 -- even prompting the arrest of an Ohio theater owner -- looks tepid today. Even the drawn-out seduction scene elicits yawns. Jeanne's muumuu is more Grimms Brothers than Victoria's Secret. And, stretching out in that boat long abandoned in a bog? Ewww...cobwebs and creepy crawlers come to mind!A most distracting element to "The Lovers" is the moral vacuity of its leads. Presumably, Jeanne is not mentally diminished, and she had married Henri (Alain Cuny, clearly embodying one of film history's most thankless roles) of her own free will and not at gunpoint. She hasn't been married long (her daughter's small enough to be lifted) and she lives in the lap of luxury in Dijon, which, while it ain't Paree, boasts sumptuous grounds on a body of water and a retinue of servants to anticipate every need. Jeanne's husband works a lot, but hey, someone's gotta pay the bills. Still, the lady of the house is not content. So one day, she meets Bernard by happenstance, Bernard makes her laugh, Henri invites Bernard over, Jeanne and Bernard cavort when everyone else is asleep, and the two run away together -- without a word of farewell. Er, OK. We are told, as a coda, that Jeanne is afraid but has no regrets. That's nice. I guess the moral of this tale is: When you have a one-night stand, run away with him. He just might be your soul mate! OK, again, I guess. I admit I have long admired the work of Moreau. No one else can so believably pull off "hang-dog" and stunning at the same time.The voice-over narration in this film seems highly derivative of "Jules et Jim" -- yet that memorable film, directed not by Malle but Truffaut, came out four years after this one did! I don't want to end this review without citing the excellent work of Jose Luis de Vilallongo as the somewhat shallow but vulnerable playboy character, Raoul. The tenderness he shows toward Jeanne, and his sensitivity at the Tournier dining table, adds admirable depth and pathos to his character. "I love you because you are quite different," he murmurs to Jeanne, holding her closely while they dance -- "different from all the other women!" Now, that's romance. What woman wouldn't yearn to hear THOSE words? And you can bet Bernard won't be thinking them up...As a great poet opined, "What fools these mortals be."

This film is the story of a bored wife and mother (Jeanne Moreau). She lives in a lovely manor home filled with servants in the country. However, she is unhappy and her marriage is without passion. She and her husband sleep in separate bedrooms and she is bored with life. For a while, she deals with it by taking frequent trips to Paris--where she takes a lover. Yet, deep down, she's still bored. Then, out of the blue, she meets another man quite by accident--and they spend a night making love in her home--while her husband, lover and best friend sleep.Back in the late 1950s when it was released, this film created quite a furor in the US. Because of its amoral plot involving a married woman having multiple affairs and showing nudity, it was considered obscene by many and eventually made it to the Supreme Court several years later to decide on its decency. In a landmark case, it was not considered indecent and it led the way to more explicit films being shown in the US in subsequent years. When you see it today, however, you'd never suspect any of this, as the film has almost no nudity at all--and if you are seeing it hoping for some sort of cheap thrill, you are bound to be disappointed. I saw one review that said today it would get an R-rating--heck, I could even imagine it receiving a PG-13. Yes, times have really changed.As far as what I thought of the film, it's really a mixed bag for me. While some can look past the moral problems with the film, I couldn't. It wasn't that the sex scene bothered me--but that the main character seemed like a spoiled child. You see her put nothing into her marriage and instead of dealing with life responsibly, she screws around. It's not that she's immoral--it's more like she's amoral--with no compass to guide her or sense of responsibility or regret. And, the way the film is constructed, it appears to condone and possibly encourage these behaviors. It's sad, as the film ends on a happy note--like life will be great with her running off with a man she hardly knows. I predict in real life, in 97% of cases like these, the woman STILL will find herself bored and might eventually realize that much of the problem is within.Now aside from my moralistic views on the film, I cannot simply dismiss the film because I didn't like the characters (and now that I think about it, I didn't like a single one of them). Artistically speaking, the film was quite brilliant. Louis Malle managed to take a threadbare story and stretch it out to 90 minutes without it becoming dull. Great cinematography, music and acting really carried the film. And, I must add that although there is almost no nudity, the sex scene is highly erotic and exceptionally well made. It managed to make adultery SEEM quite beautiful. And, because of this and its importance to US law, it makes for a must-see experience for cinephiles.By the way, on the Criterion disc is an interesting special feature on the US release. While it's just various clips and a bit of text, seeing the posters and lobby cards for the American release was funny--and a bit sad. You'd swear that the film was MEGA-hot and full of hot, steamy sex based on these print ads--which it certainly is NOT. I am sure many seeing the film went home very disappointed.

The legendary French actress Jeanne Moreau shows why even at this early stage of her career she was destined to become one of the greats (along with tyro-director Louis Malle).Perfect film for chickflickers as the plot line revolves around a married woman who can't decide between her loveless marriage, her playboy lover, or perhaps the next stranger she meets.Still stands up after all these years and yes it's been re-struck in its original 35mm widescreen form (in gorgeous BLACK & WHITE, too)!NOTE: If you live in NYC there is a full Louis Malle retrospective going on thru July 19, 2005 and this film is being screened today, tomorrow, and June 29 with a gorgeously restored black and white print at the Walter Reade theater.