Leaving (I) (2009)
"Partir" (original title)

Suzanne is a well to do married woman and mother in the south of France. Her idle bourgeois lifestyle gets her down and she decides to go back to work as a physiotherapist. Her husband ... See full summary »

Director:

Catherine Corsini

Writers:

Catherine Corsini (scenario), Gaëlle Macé (collaborator),

Stars:

Kristin Scott Thomas, Sergi López, Yvan Attal

1 win & 1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Kristin Scott Thomas	...	Suzanne
Sergi López	...	Ivan
Yvan Attal	...	Samuel
Bernard Blancan	...	Rémi
Aladin Reibel	...	Dubreuil
Alexandre Vidal	...	David
Daisy Broom	...	Marion
Berta Esquirol	...	Berta
Gérard Lartigau	...	Lagache
Geneviève Casile	...	La mère de Samuel
Philippe Laudenbach	...	Le père de Samuel
Michèle Ernou	...	Mme Aubouy
Jonathan Cohen	...	Le banquier
Hélène Babu	...	Dorothée
Sali Cervià	...	La fille de la station-service

Storyline

Suzanne is a well to do married woman and mother in the south of France. Her idle bourgeois lifestyle gets her down and she decides to go back to work as a physiotherapist. Her husband agrees to fix up a consulting room for her in their backyard. When Suzanne and the man hired to do the building meet, the mutual attraction is sudden and violent. Suzanne decides to give up everything and live this all engulfing passion to the fullest.

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Plot Keywords:

sex | hospital | mother daughter relationship | kiss | jealousy | 

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Genres:

Drama | Romance

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Certificate:

Unrated

Details

Official Sites:

Official site

Country:

France

Language:

French Catalan English

Release Date:

12 August 2009 (France)

Also Known As:

Leaving

Box Office

Budget:

$7,600,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

$12,697 (USA) (2 October 2010)

Gross:

$174,694 (USA) (17 December 2010)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Pyramide Productions, Caméra One, VMP

Technical Specs

Runtime:

85 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Soundtracks

"Air"
By Graham Preskett
© & (p) KMP MUSIC - K MUSIK

User Reviews

Kristin Scott Thomas as a French Lady Chatterley

"Partir," shown in the U.S. as "Leaving" (2009) was co-written and directed by Catherine Corsini.

Kristin Scott Thomas plays Suzanne, a French wife and mother who is bored with her "perfect" life. She is rich, beautiful, and seemingly happily married.

However, she decides to do something more than just be idle, so she returns to her earlier profession of physical therapy. Her husband is paying for an office for his wife, which will be adjacent to their home. Although wealthy, he squeezes every Euro out of the building contractor. That causes the contractor to hire a Spanish worker, who will work for non-union wages. Suzanne falls passionately in love with the worker--Ivan--and what happens next makes up the plot of the movie.

As someone pointed out on the message board, no one behaves intelligently. When she is desperate for money, Suzanne--despite her education and her elegance and beauty--ends up doing manual labor at the lowest level. (Literally--she's picking vegetables.) Didn't she consider working in a dress shop or as a receptionist if she couldn't find a PT position?

Kristin Scott Thomas is English, but she lives in France. She's very convincing as a woman who arrived in France when she was very young, and now is completely French. The movie manages to work because Scott Thomas has so much star power and such a strong screen presence. However, beauty and elegance can only take a movie so far. If you analyze the film carefully, the whole thing falls apart.

I saw the movie on DVD, and that worked well for the interpersonal aspects. However, there were several scenes of great natural beauty, which were lost on the small screen. I don't think that Partir is a movie worth seeking out, except if you are dazzled by Kristin Scott Thomas, who is in virtually every scene. However, I think it's somewhat better than the very low IMDb rating would suggest.