La femme d'à côté

This latter period François Truffaut film was one passed on to me by a very kind fellow IMDb user. Having seen Truffaut's Jules et Jim (1962) and not having been particularly blown away by it, I have to admit having feelings of caution with regards this one; particularly given certain similar themes in the plot-line. So I was very pleasantly surprised to find myself enjoying this one a great deal more. The story happens in a village in France where a young couple live a contented life. The husband's world is soon turned upside down; however, when a new couple moves in next door in which it turns out the wife was an old lover of his from a relationship that ended acrimoniously.

This is a story about intense yet frustrated love and obsession. It worked very well for me, as the simple story has some fine performances underpinning the drama. Gérard Depardieu and Fanny Ardent have strong chemistry in the central roles of the adulterous characters conducting their passionate yet troubled affair. As we follow them through the motions, details slowly emerge about their history, although we are never fully given all the pieces to put together all the facets pertaining to their turbulent romantic past. Some mystery remains, which feels right and only makes the characters more compelling if anything. Like Jules et Jim it is in essence a somewhat tragic love story which doesn't really have a good ultimate message to give about the outcome of passionate love affairs. The most important character aside from the central couple is Madame Odile who runs a tennis club that acts as a social hub of the small local community. She became crippled for life after attempting suicide after being rejected by the man she loved; her story acts as a warning from the past for the young lovers, a warning that they ultimately do not or cannot heed.

A young, almost boyish Gerard Depardieu stars in 'The Woman Next Door', one of Francois Truffaut's later films. In some ways, it's a stereotypically French affair, a stylish and urbane story of passionate love. But the film itself, though nicely observed, fails to really catch fire. One reason may be the fact that their isn't much in the way of character development, not because the characters are one-dimensional but because they are fully described in the premise, and change little thereafter. We are told that the central figures are in love, but know they could not live together, and what follows is merely the logical exposition of this. Another is that they themselves seem the biggest obstacles to their own happiness. Therefore, though the film is watchable throughout, as a whole it amounts to little more than a collection of its parts, rather than a great and profound tragedy. Other work by this director packed a greater punch.

A pair of spinning magnets, correspondingly attract, then rotate a little further, universally detract, pulling one way for a while, as they slowly reconcile, then pushing, pushing, pushing, until both of them retract.

It's a can't live with you, can't live without you tale, but you've seen it many times before, as it's hoisted many sails, the difference this time round, is the lady is profound, a performance of some standing, lifts it right up off the ground - but apart from the adorable Fanny Ardant there isn't a lot else to get too excited about, although the rest of the ensemble perform their roles adequately and Gérard Depardieu is more than believable in his highly volatile moments.

Family man Gérard Depardieu is disturbed to learn his new neighbor is, by sheer coincidence, ex-lover Fanny Ardant. Both are happily married, but that doesn't stop them from resuming their affair, with tragic consequences.

The script is nothing new, but François Truffaut's intelligent treatment of the otherwise familiar story avoids the more obvious clichés of popular romantic fiction. It hardly ranks among the director's best efforts, but a pair of talented co-stars and the typically French pre-occupation with l'amour fou help maintain interest all the way to the startling conclusion.

In Grenoble, Bernard Coudray (Gérard Depardieu) and his wife Arlette Coudray (Michèle Baumgartner) are happily married with their son Thomas. When the next door house is rented to the flight controller Philippe Bauchard (Henri Garcin) and his wife Mathilde Bauchard (Fanny Ardant), Arlette invites the couple for a dinner party but Bernard avoids Mathilde. When they meet each other in the supermarket, they recall their love affair that traumatically ended eight years ago. However their love rekindles and they meet each other in a hotel room. But once together again, they have a stormy affair that ends again with tragic consequences.

"La femme d'à côté", a.k.a. "The Woman Next Door", is a tragic and powerful romance by François Truffaut with the love story of a stormy couple reunited again after eight years by chance but that cannot be together. The performances are magnificent and the conclusion is predictable. The final quote of the narrator Madame Odile Jouve for their epitaph is perfect ("Neither with you, nor without you."). My vote is seven.

Title (Brazil): "A Mulher do Lado" ("The Woman Next Door")