A Housekeeper (2002)
"Une femme de ménage" (original title)

After his wife leaves him for another man, Jacques hires a housekeeper, Laura, to keep his Paris apartment in order. As he starts increasing her hours and spending more time with her on her... See full summary »

Director:

Claude Berri

Writers:

Claude Berri, Christian Oster (book)

Stars:

Jean-Pierre Bacri, Émilie Dequenne, Brigitte Catillon

1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Jean-Pierre Bacri	...	Jacques
Émilie Dequenne	...	Laura (as Emilie Dequenne)
Brigitte Catillon	...	Claire
Jacques Frantz	...	Ralph
Axelle Abbadie	...	Hélène
Catherine Breillat	...	Constance
Apollinaire Louis-Philippe Dogue	...	Ernest, le barman
Amalric Gérard	...	Julien
Laurence Colussi	...	La femme à la terrasse
Djura	...	La chanteuse
Nathalie Boutefeu	...	La jeune fille au concert
Xavier Maly	...	Assistant de Jacques
Abel Nahmias	...	Le voisin
Daniel Humair	...	Musicien (as H.U.M.)
Emilhenco	...	Musicien (as H.U.M., Rene Urtreger)

Storyline

After his wife leaves him for another man, Jacques hires a housekeeper, Laura, to keep his Paris apartment in order. As he starts increasing her hours and spending more time with her on her days off, Jacques is torn between the pleasure of Laura's company, and the headache that such an intrusion brings to his new domain of singlehood.

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Plot Keywords:

housekeeper | love | paris france | bikini | chicken | 

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama | Romance

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for some sexuality/nudity and brief language

Details

Country:

France

Language:

French

Release Date:

13 November 2002 (France)

Also Known As:

The Housekeeper

Box Office

Opening Weekend:

$42,083 (USA) (11 July 2003)

Gross:

$455,026 (USA) (7 November 2003)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Canal+, Centre National de la Cinématographie (CNC), Renn Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

91 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital DTS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Goofs

At the end of the film, goes for a swim. When she returns to the beach, she is wearing a completely different bathing suit.

User Reviews

My 401st Review: Neither Modal Nor Major: an interesting premise, that delivers little

A broken-down man, Jean-Pierre Bacri, is a man in a mess, both figuratively and literally. His constant hangdog expression and the state of chaos needs help.

He advertises for a cleaner and Émile Duchenne turns up. The cleaner is young and naif, the older man is world-weary.

Claude Berri chooses to direct Une Femme De Ménage as a very small piece and from decidedly reactionary suppositions. I dislike the notion here that the male is booth the provider and wiser, and that women need men to be complete. It may be what the film is about, but it is almost 1950s-sexism and I, for one, couldn't really get past it.

All in all, while I got the text and the subtext here, and it does against its the normal conventions of romantic comedies very well, it doesn't quite get as beyond as it aims might suggest.

For this viewer the ennui was good but the apparent lack of commitment, followed by the transformation, followed by a good denouement never quite gels - there is something here that irritates rather than intrigues. It wants to improvise but feels still very scripted - it can't quite make the leap. What we get at the end is a film about life as solipistic unsatisfaction disguised as a romantic comedy, which is a nice idea, but the film never quite carries the strenght of its own convicitonss.