Chéri (2009)

The son of a courtesan retreats into a fantasy world after being forced to end his relationship with the older woman who educated him in the ways of love.

Director:

Stephen Frears

Writers:

Christopher Hampton, Colette (novels)

Stars:

Michelle Pfeiffer, Frances Tomelty, Rupert Friend

3 wins & 2 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Michelle Pfeiffer	...	Lea
Frances Tomelty	...	Rose
Tom Burke	...	Vicomte Desmond
Rupert Friend	...	Chéri
Hubert Tellegen	...	Ernest
Joe Sheridan	...	Marcel
Kathy Bates	...	Madame Peloux
Toby Kebbell	...	Patron
Felicity Jones	...	Edmée
Iben Hjejle	...	Marie Laure
Alain Churin	...	Priest
Bette Bourne	...	Baronne
Nichola McAuliffe	...	Madame Aldonza
Andras Hamori	...	Silver Haired Industrialist
Gaye Brown	...	Lili

Storyline

During France's belle époque before World War I, elegant cars, mansions, and servants defined the lives of les grandes horizontals, the courtesans of kings and millionaires. One of the most successful, Lea de Lonval, is approaching a certain age when an older associate, Charlotte Peloux, asks Lea to take on her 19 year old son, whom Lea has called Chéri since he was a child. They become lovers and, to their surprise, the relationship lasts six years. When it ends abruptly with a marriage his mother arranges to the daughter of another courtesan, Lea finds herself miserable. Has she fallen in love? If so, do she -- and Chéri - have any choices?

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Plot Keywords:

courtesan | love | marriage | prostitute | lover | 

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Taglines:

Indulge in a wicked game of seduction.

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama | Romance

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for some sexual content and brief drug use

Details

Official Sites:

Official site Official site [jp]

Country:

UK France Germany

Language:

English French Latin Italian

Release Date:

8 April 2009 (France)

Also Known As:

Cheri

Filming Locations:

Hôtel du Palais, 1 Avenue de l'Impératrice, Biarritz, Pyrénées-Atlantiques, France

Box Office

Budget:

$23,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

$405,701 (USA) (26 June 2009)

Gross:

$2,708,188 (USA) (21 August 2009)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Bill Kenwright Films, Pathé, UK Film Council

Technical Specs

Runtime:

100 min 100 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

French visa # 120988.

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Goofs

In the closing credits, 'thanks' are given to France's national railway, the Societe National Chemin de Fer, known as the "SNCF". However the credits have the letters out of sequence, calling it the "SCNF".

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Quotes

[first lines]
Narrator: We may think ourselves familiar in this day and age with the notion that whores of every description can very easily achieve fame and fortune. But towards the end of the 19th century, there what came to be known in France as the "ballet park", a select group of courtesans, who became for a short period, the most celebrated and powerful women in the long history of prostitution.

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Connections

Version of Cheri (1973)

User Reviews

Ravishing to look at, touching and romantic

How wonderful to escape recessionary 2009 for a more glamorous world - Paris of the Belle Epoque. Every scene is a feast for the eye - including some marvellous Art Nouveau interiors - and the sun always seems to be shining on dewy gardens or a blue-green sea.

And in these luscious settings unfolds a tale of love with a capital L. It is the tale of a strong, wise heroine and a poetic, spoilt young man

• a couple who never thought they would find love, both of whom

recognise in their different ways that it has found them.

The acting is superb. Michelle Pfeiffer plays the heroine splendidly, and Rupert Friend has the beauty of a figure from a Burne-Jones painting. Christopher Hampton's screenplay is witty and seductive. The film score sets the tale off perfectly.