The excitement in The Soft Skin, however, gives way to an intense tragedy that's INFORMED by the thrills.
80
Village VoiceJ. Hoberman
Village VoiceJ. Hoberman
The Soft Skin is a movie about the agony and ecstasy of an extramarital affair. Truffaut treats it like a crime film-low-key yet tense, filled with carefully planted potential "clues" and an undercurrent of anxiety.
75
Chicago Sun-TimesRoger Ebert
Chicago Sun-TimesRoger Ebert
What it comes down to is: Pierre is a lousy adulterer. He lacks the desire, the reason and the skill.
Redemptively, the cast goes a long way: Jean Desailly is perfect as a jowly literary celeb deep in midlife crisis, while the aloof Françoise Dorléac is magnetic as his airline stewardess and all-too-scrutable love object.