L'Etudiante is a film that centres around the relationship between a student teacher called Valentine (Sophie Marceau) and an ambitious but unsuccessful musician named Ned (Vincent Lindon).
Valentine is an exceptionally dedicated student, who thinks of nothing but passing her exams, which, quite unsurprisingly, has a big effect on her relationship with Ned. Ned is frequently tormented by this fact, and also that his relentless touring does not help the relationship either. The film follows them as they try to overcome these problems and settle into a life together.
Like most French films, L'Etudiante is quite dialogue-heavy. Very little actually happens in the film and most of the scenes are of the main actors talking, whether that be in flats, cafés, restaurants, cars, beds, trains or the streets of Paris. And, as is also true about most French films, it is the quality of the acting that sees this through. Lindon is highly entertaining as Ned. He portrays perfectly the man with great ambitions but not the ruthlessness needed to fulfil them. His down-to-Earthness is the perfect contrast to Marceau's highly-strung Valentine. Marceau gives an excellent performance. We've all known workaholics who put their personal success before everything else. Often we see these people as cold and unemotional but Marceau is the opposite and shows Valentine to be as human as anyone else helping us to understand what is driving her.
Again, as is also often the case in French films, there are a number of constant irritations in the picture.
Often, especially at the beginning, the director seems to just want to look at Marceau. She's very attractive but the constant goddess-like adoration does get a little waring. Fortunately, it calms down a bit by the second half of the film. A common gripe at French films is that the dialogue can get a bit precious at times. This is certainly true of L'Etudiante. When I was a student, I rarely fell out with people because of their opinions on social anthropology, political philosophy or career options. Perhaps Parisian students do. And finally, Marceau does spend quite a few scenes au naturale. This is not an unpleasant sight but,personally, I found it to be a little unnecessary.
L'Etudiante is a good French film for people who don't watch many French films. It won't change your life but it does provide you with an insight into commercial French cinema and will definitely keep you entertained for a couple of hours.
