"Intimate Strangers" (Confidence Trop Intimes)
Anna (Sandrine Bonnaire) arrives for her first
appointment with a psychiatrist but accidentally
enters the wrong office. She mistakes tax attorney
William Faber (Fabrice Luchini) for the doctor and
proceeds to bare her soul to the startled man. He is
so taken with the attractive, frank woman that he
fails to tell her of the mistake she made. What
happens next changes the lives of both in director
Patrice Leconte's "Intimate Strangers."
Helmer Leconte has always had a Hitchcockian flare in
his filmmaking exhibited first, to me, in his his
great 1988 film, "Monsieur Flare." But he has also
developed his own vision of film, reflected in such
different efforts as "Girl on a Bridge," "Widow of St.
Pierre" and "Man on a Train." Each of these and other
Leconte films I know display the world-class talent of
the auteur, even as he pays homage to Hitch.
"Intimate Strangers" is a love story very uniquely
told. As Anna tells her woes, William is captivated by
her beauty, grace and troubles. Her marriage has
fallen on hard times since her husband had a terrible,
disabling accident. Since then he has not touched her
and wants no intimacy. William is further attracted to
Anna when she tells him that her husband, Marc
(Gilbert Melki), insists that she have sex with
another man.
Leconte and co-writer Jerome Tonnerre nicely draw the
complex build of this story of confession, sex,
loneliness, compassion and intimacy from the script.
Anna goes through her stages, at the start of
"Intimate Strangers," of finally deciding to confide
in a professional, learning her confidant is not what
she believed, accepting that and continuing her
"sessions." You begin to root for the fastidious,
toy-collecting, middle-aged and lonely bachelor,
William, who has had the unexpected good fortune of
having the alluring Anna thrust into his life. Fabrice
Luchini grabs your heart in his portrayal of the
outwardly bland but inwardly complex and compassionate
– if not downright passionate - man.
Anna, effectively played by Sandrine Bonnaire, who
starred opposite Michel Blanc in the director's
"Monsieur Hire," is a flawed character but, still, one
with which you can empathize. As she tells William
about her problems we learn that she is complicit in
them and the cause of her husband's handicap. Bonnaire
gives nuance to the arc of character (benefited
beautifully by costumer Sandrine Kerner) as she opens
up to her "doctor," realizes the foolishness of her
error, feels violated and raped by William's unspoken
deception but compelled to continue her unconventional
"therapy." There is always an underlying feeling
throughout the film that Anna is never what she seems
to be.
While "Intimate Strangers" belongs to Luchini and
Bonnaire, Leconte fills the background characters with
some very capable actors. William had taken over his
father's tax business and with it his pere's old
secretary (with allusions to maybe something more
between employer and employee). Helene Sugere plays
Madame Mulon; a taciturn woman who silently observes
the unusual and vaguely sexual "appointments" her boss
holds every week with Anna, with no tax business
performed. Sugere says volumes with her silence and
her reproach is palpable, even as she remains loyal to
William.
Gilbert Melki gives a quiet, intense and dangerous
performance as he confronts William with his belief
that the tax attorney is having an affair with his
wife. The sparks the take place between William and
Marc are almost visible as they duel over Anna. Melki,
too, speaks pages by saying little and carries the
undercurrent of potential violence. Michel Duchaussoy
is perfectly cast as Dr. Monnier, the psychiatrist
that Anna first had the appointment, who becomes
William's muse and advisor in helping the woman with
her problems. I don't know if the American
Psychiatrist Association would approve of this kind of
surrogate psychological treatment but it works here.
Techs are straightforward but done with elegance.
Costume is notable on all levels, from well-tailored
suits and ties for William to Anna's every evolving
wardrobe which, as her problems come to light and are
resolved, takes on provocative and gaily alluring
looks. Eduardo Serra (robbed of last year's Oscar for
"Girl with a Pearl Earring," IMHO) keeps his lens even
as he utilizes the tight confines of William's
combination office and home. Serra is not a product of
MTV video production and he uses static camera shots
to stunning effect, giving the eye time to examine the
superbly appointed production design by Ivan Maussian.
Patrice Leconte keeps the air of mystery about
"Intimate Strangers" that makes you think you are
watching an erotic thriller while it is neither erotic
nor thrilling. But, there is a sensual charm that
rises from the chemistry between the actors and their
masterly performances under Leconte's steady hand.
There are many layers to the film and it is pleasant
to see such that allows you to peel away these layers
and reveal the heart of what Leconte and company are
going for. This should be a must for real film fans,
especially those fond of French cinema. I dare
Hollywood to try to remake this as an American film. I
give it a B+.
For more Reeling Reviews vistit www.reelingreviews.com
robin@reelingreviews.com
laura@reelingreviews.com
========== X-RAMR-ID: 38421 X-Language: en X-RT-ReviewID: 1305226 X-RT-TitleID: 1132500 X-RT-SourceID: 386 X-RT-AuthorID: 1488 X-RT-RatingText: B+
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