La vengeance d'une femme (1990)

Director:

Jacques Doillon

Writers:

Jacques Doillon (scenario and dialogue) &
Jean-François Goyet (scenario and dialogue) ...

Release Date:

10 January 1990 (France)

Genre:

Drama

Plot:

After the suicide of her husband, a widow is trying to get a confession from his mistress that it was her fault.

Plot Keywords:

Suicide | Ménage À Trois | Revenge | Car Accident | Paris France

Awards:

1 nomination

Cast

Isabelle Huppert	...	Cécile
Béatrice Dalle	...	Suzy
Jean-Louis Murat	...	Stéphane
Laurence Côte	...	Laurence
Sebastian Roché	...	Le dealer
David Léotard	...	Le jeune homme
Albert Le Prince	...	Le médecin (as Albert Leprince)
Brigitte Marvine	...	La danseuse
Pierre Amzallag	...	Le voisin
Jean-Pierre Bamberger	...	La présence

Also Known As:

A Woman's Revenge

Runtime:

133 min

Country:

France

Language:

French

Color:

Color

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Filming Locations:

Paris, France

Company:

Sara Films

Soundtrack:

Tu m'as jete

A deeply troubled relationship works its way into a beautiful movie.

"La Vengeance d'une femme" is a surprising movie, yet at times the dialogues seem quite familiar. I guess it's because Proust's work has a major influence on the plot (rather than Dostoyevsky's), particularly on Isabelle Huppert's character as the woman who lost her husband. Seeking her own truth behind his death, she suddenly finds herself at the door of his mistress (Béatrice Dalle). And from that point, they are led into a chaotic relationship.

We also watch the movie in a rather uncomfortable way. Jacques Doillon's direction is simply based on the "walking and talking" actions of the two main characters (where music has absolutely no effect in the background). They are mostly spending their time at hotel rooms, inside a flat. We only see them outside once in a while, and therefore a claustrophobic atmosphere fades in the screen inevitably.

I can't say if it's a good thing or not but this extremely anxious feeling makes you wonder more about their past. You want to see the story beyond their memories. I personally would have liked to witness Béatrice Dalle's character in the movie through flashbacks, just to understand her better.

Even in this form, however, I enjoyed the movie a lot. It leaves out details that you should fill in the gaps underneath with your own understanding, an d I must say it's worth the effort.