Intimate Strangers (2004)

A Frenchwoman tells her marital troubles to a man she mistakes for a psychiatrist, and soon they form an unusual relationship.

Director:

Patrice Leconte

Writers:

Jérôme Tonnerre (scenario and dialogue), Jérôme Tonnerre (adaptation)

Stars:

Sandrine Bonnaire, Fabrice Luchini, Michel Duchaussoy

3 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Sandrine Bonnaire	...	Anna
Fabrice Luchini	...	William
Michel Duchaussoy	...	Dr. Monnier
Anne Brochet	...	Jeanne
Gilbert Melki	...	Marc
Laurent Gamelon	...	Luc
Hélène Surgère	...	Mrs. Mulon
Urbain Cancelier	...	Chatel
Isabelle Petit-Jacques	...	Dr. Monnier's Secretary
Véronique Kapoyan	...	Female Guard (as Véronique Kapoian)
Benoît Pétré	...	Messenger
Albert Simono	...	Mr. Michel (as Alberto Simono)
Claude Derepp	...	The Customs Client (as Claude Dereppe)
Aurore Auteuil	...	The Student Nabokov
Ludovic Berthillot	...	The Mover

Storyline

Because she picked the wrong door, Anna ends up confessing her marriage problems to a financial adviser named William Faber. Touched by her distress, somewhat excited as well, Faber does not have the courage to tell her that he is not a psychiatrist. From appointment to appointment, a strange ritual is created between them. William is moved by the young woman and fascinated to hear the secrets that no man ever heard...

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Plot Keywords:

psychiatrist | secret | marriage | motorcycle | sculpture class | 

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Taglines:

She confused him for a therapist and told him her deepest secrets. Now, two people who never should have met are discovering there's nothing more seductive than the truth.

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Genres:

Drama | Romance | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for sexual dialogue

Details

Official Sites:

Paramount Classics

Country:

France

Language:

French

Release Date:

3 September 2004 (USA)

Also Known As:

Bliscy nieznajomi

Filming Locations:

Paris, France

Box Office

Opening Weekend USA:

$55,836, 1 August 2004

Gross USA:

$2,110,589

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$7,122,182

Company Credits

Production Co:

Les Films Alain Sarde, France 3 Cinéma, Zoulou Films

Technical Specs

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Connections

Remade as Intimate Strangers

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Soundtracks

Sur le Moment
Written by Suna Syal

User Reviews

Intriguing, minimalist, and yet uplifting

It is sometimes difficult to walk the fine line between comedy and banality, as well as hiding all the wire and papier mâché that form the construct known as thriller. "Confidences trop intimes" cunningly avoids the traps of both genres by simply shaking the constructs off, layer by layer.

The movie belongs to a genre, "comédie dramatique" ("dromedy"?) which usually in US movies is reserved for romance "chick flicks". Yet these intimate strangers bring quite a bit more to the screen. It's a pleasant relief to see them saying so much with so little, avoiding those deep memorable lines that are so out of place in the mouth of the common people movies of these kind are supposed to represent.

It's by juxtaposition that Leconte achieves the best effect, by not saying too much and underplaying it, always. In one memorable scene the lonely célibataire glances at the stages of life through his window. Through the glass of the opposite building he sees passion, argument and old age as the seemingly inevitable stages of life. His life seems codified, chosen by others and kept and controlled, in the good and in the bad: add the secret ingredient, an excellent Sandrine Bonnaire, and stir.

The film amusingly deconstructs the myth of psychoanalysis, and thanks to the great empathy of the Luchini character, succeeds in expressing the inexpressible, the desire, the longing sometimes solitary and hopeless. 9/10!