Thérèse Desqueyroux

Who is Therese Desqueyroux? This question remains open after watching the film made in 2012 by Claude Miller, a film bearing the name of the heroine (or simply 'Therese' on the English market and in other countries where the heroine's last name is difficult to pronounce, not to mention write). This is a film that in my opinion did not enjoy the deserved reception, neither from the public nor from the critics. Some of the objections I read are related to the fact that there is no clear explanation of the reasons that push the heroine of the film to extreme deeds and especially there is no moral or moralizing judgment of them. However, actually the character played by Audrey Tautou is consistent with the mystery surrounding the female characters that dominate Claude Miller's films and fits perfectly with the ambiguity of the woman imagined by Francois Mauriac in the novel of the same title, one of the best left behind by this writer who was very popular in the first half of the 20th century, a writer who was awarded the Nobel Prize for literature in 1952. There is also is another aspect that gives value and meaning to 'Therese Desqueyroux'. Much of the story in the film takes place under the sign of death. Claude Miller does not turn the plot, as he could have done, into a horror story, but death or its threat are almost always present. This was Miller's last film. The director was ill with leukemia during its making. I don't know if it should be called a testament film, but it is clear that death was a theme that had become personal and actual for the author.

The story takes place in the late 1920s and early 1930s in the properties of two wealthy families in the French countryside. Young Therese marries Bernard, the brother of her good friend Anne. It is a marriage of convenience, devoid of passion, but through which Therese hopes to ensure to herself the quiet and secure life for the realisation of some vague intellectual ambitions. In a short time, however, she finds herself suffocated by the lack of horizon of the life of a provincial woman, she does not find fulfilment in maternity either, and even Anne's unhappy love story with a Jewish young man, terminated by her family, seems to be a luckier alternative. Can an assassination attempt be the way to liberation? Who can judge her? Justice? The family? Spectators?

The cinematography is exquisite, with several scenes of beautiful and expressive framing that remind some the landscapes of the Impressionists, other the interior paintings of the Flemish masters. The plot is built with attention to detail and psychological delicacy. The lead roles are interpreted by three actors that I like a lot, even if their casting in this film is not ideal. Audrey Tautou is exceptional, in a much darker role than others who have marked her career. (I hope that the rumours about her intentions to give up her acting career will prove to be untrie). Anaïs Demoustier is another very talented actress, but I found her role here less convincing, especially when it comes to erasing the age difference between the two women. Gilles Lellouche has a difficult role as the rude husband, but he creates a character that makes viewers avoid harsh judgments. 'Therese Desqueyroux' is a feminist film in a discreet way, and the moral judgment, if any, is more of a social nature and related to the institution of the family whose stability and appearances becomes the purpose instead of a frame for life. As for understanding Therese's character, I suggest you wait until the closing scene of the film.

'Thérèse Desqueyroux' is a French drama set in the 1920s in which Audrey Tautou, as the titular Thérèse, is content to play the iconoclast in her stuffy husband's family. But when her best friend (also her sister-in-law) describes her passionate relationship with an attractive young Portuguese man, Thérèse's emotions take a more sinister turn. My one complaint about this is that as Thérèse's husband (played by Gilles Lellouche) is such a central part of the plot it's a shame he is portrayed as such a one-dimensional duffer, ignorant of his wife's feelings in the most stereotypical way, but apart from that this is quite an enjoyable production, both in terms of the plot and the idyllic coastal scenery in which much of the film is set.

"Therese" is a lovely looking film. The characters are all attractive, the scenery is pristine and engaging, and the colors really pop out at you. The cinematography is near top-notch.

Ultimately, this is a very dark, and rather depressing story. Although arguably a victim of circumstance, the lead character comes across as rather self-absorbed and pathetic. I'm not sure if that was the intention or not, or even if there was an intention.

The story and dialogue are sufficiently sophisticated to keep the viewer's attention. Overall a solid piece of work with good performances from the cast.

If you liked this review, then please check out my other reviews. I try to review the movies which not many people see.

Based on a french novel itself inspired by a true story. This is some sort of study of psychopathy. It can be in an apparently nice person.

This excellent film, like the novel, has a challengingly "modern", existential feel, with themes that bring it closer to the ideas of Camus and Sartre than many of Mauriac's other works.

Thérèse isn't really sure why she acts in the way she does, but her character, thanks largely to Tautou's performance, is so complex and nuanced that, far from leading to "confusion", as another reviewer has suggested, it simply seems real. Perhaps too "real" to be hugely dramatic, but real enough to be compelling and fascinating.

Gilles Lellouche plays husband Bernard to perfection, too, with just the right amount of odious materialism and hypocrisy, combined with a tinge of genuine sympathy. He genuinely can't comprehend his wife and her actions, and responds in the way that he thinks best.

The movie is beautifully and atmospherically shot - the best compliment I can pay is that it looks just how I imagined it when I read the book. Plus it made me want to read the novel again, because it reminded me just how powerful and "modern" a work it is.

Despite the film's length, there are no "longueurs" (boring bits), and the plot feels surprisingly tight given the lack of action.

So watch this film, enjoy the "look", and be surprised and challenged by the characters and their motivations, and by just how modern Mauriac's ideas were, way back in the 1920s. Definitely recommended.