Nathalie... (2003)

Nathalie is the name a Parisian prostitute assumes for a special mission or "private investigation." She is engaged in this unusual and secretive task by a professional, upper-middle-class ... See full summary »

Director:

Anne Fontaine

Writers:

Philippe Blasband (original idea), Jacques Fieschi,

Stars:

Fanny Ardant, Emmanuelle Béart, Gérard Depardieu

2 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Fanny Ardant	...	Catherine
Emmanuelle Béart	...	Nathalie / Marlène
Gérard Depardieu	...	Bernard
Wladimir Yordanoff	...	François
Judith Magre	...	La mère de Catherine
Rodolphe Pauly	...	Le fils
Évelyne Dandry	...	La patronne du bar
Ari Boulogne	...	L'homme d'un soir (as Ari Päffgen)
Aurore Auteuil	...	La patiente de Catherine
Idit Cebula	...	Ghislaine
Sasha Rucavina	...	Marianne (as Sacha Rukavina)
Macha Polikarpova	...	Ingrid
Marie Adam	...	La secrétaire médicale
Sophie Séfériadès	...	Une autre patiente
Serge Onteniente	...	L'agent immobilier (as Serge Onteniente-Boutleroff)

Storyline

Nathalie is the name a Parisian prostitute assumes for a special mission or "private investigation." She is engaged in this unusual and secretive task by a professional, upper-middle-class wife who fears that her husband is unfaithful to her. Nathalie has to seduce the clueless husband and regularly report all details of her relationship with him, including his most intimate sexual preferences in bed. Nathalie is stunning, charming, and cunning. Can Nathalie and her reports to the mistrustful wife be trusted? Is the middle aged husband indeed unfaithful?

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Plot Keywords:

prostitute | sex | cell phone | gynecologist | father son relationship | 

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Taglines:

Can you ever control another person's sexuality?

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Genres:

Drama

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Details

Official Sites:

KOCH Lorber Films

Country:

France Spain

Language:

French

Release Date:

7 January 2004 (France)

Also Known As:

Nathalie X

Filming Locations:

France

Box Office

Opening Weekend:

$10,351 (USA) (14 April 2006)

Gross:

$20,838 (USA) (5 May 2006)

Company Credits

Production Co:

France 2 Cinéma, DD Productions, Vértigo Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

106 min 100 min

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Quotes

Un client de Marlène: [Sitting with Nathalie/Marlene, at the bar where she works] Can I ask you a question? Are you shaved?

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Connections

References Analyze That (2002)

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Soundtracks

"Trois petites notes de musique"
Written by Henri Colpi and Georges Delerue
Performed by Judith Magre

User Reviews

Riveting but ultimately disappointing.

Nathalie was recommended to me by a good friend with good taste in movies. So, I was disappointed when I watched a well-made movie with a hollow premise.

At the heart of the plot is a middle-aged wife who finds out her husband is sleeping around (as French husbands do, as her mother observes). Yet, she is cold in bed, and, worse, employs a beautiful winsome prostitute (to whom she gives the name Nathalie) as bait, to see how her husband behaves when he plays around.

In a seemingly obsessive manner, the wife seeks Nathalie's accounts of her encounters with the unsuspecting husband. And, the more she hears, the more she is hurt, and the colder she becomes towards her husband. The accounts are sexy and provide the momentum in the movie, but, as they grow in intensity, the wife becomes more and more ridiculous as she listens and does nothing as her marriage seems to be going down the gurgler. Does she WANT to lose her husband?? Why doesn't she use the stimulus of Nathalie's accounts to regain some of her waning sexual interest? Why doesn't she respond to the attempts of her husband to woo her back?

The twist in the end saves the movie, however, and just as well. This was a puzzling movie to me, with such a great cast, but with Fanny Ardant playing a dumb wife. French movies used to portray human relationships better this!