La fille coupée en deux (2007)

A black comedy centered around a TV weather girl and the two very different men who pursue her.

Director:

Claude Chabrol

Writers:

Cécile Maistre (scenario, adaptation and dialogue), Claude Chabrol (scenario, adaptation and dialogue)

Stars:

Ludivine Sagnier, Benoît Magimel, François Berléand

2 wins & 1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Ludivine Sagnier	...	Gabrielle Aurore Deneige
Benoît Magimel	...	Paul André Claude Gaudens
François Berléand	...	Charles Denis dit Charles Saint-Denis
Mathilda May	...	Capucine Jamet
Caroline Silhol	...	Geneviève Gaudens
Marie Bunel	...	Marie Deneige
Valéria Cavalli	...	Dona Saint-Denis
Etienne Chicot	...	Denis Deneige
Edouard Baer	...	Edouard, l'acteur interviewé
Jean-Marie Winling	...	Gérard Briançon
Didier Bénureau	...	Philippe Le Riou
Thomas Chabrol	...	Maître Stéphane Lorbach
Charley Fouquet	...	Eléonore Gaudens
Hubert Saint-Macary	...	Bernard Violet (as Hubert Saint Macary)
Jérémie Chaplain

Storyline

Gabrielle is a young woman with a future: she's the weather girl on a local TV station destined to a rapid promotion. She's self-confident and self-possessed. In Lyon, on successive days, she meets two men of high status: Charles, a middle-aged writer, and Paul, the heir to a pharmaceutical fortune. Both are attracted to her and both have flaws immediately evident: Charles, who is married, can be dismissive; Paul can be possessive and threatening. To the dismay of one, Gabrielle chooses the other. How will each man handle her choice, and after she falls in love, can she sustain her personal strength?

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Plot Keywords:

woman in bed | mistress | love triangle | extramarital affair | based on true story | 

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Genres:

Drama | Thriller

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Official Sites:

Wild Bunch [France]

Country:

France Germany

Language:

French

Release Date:

8 August 2007 (France)

Also Known As:

A Girl Cut in Two

Filming Locations:

Hôtel des Ventes Lyon Presqu'Ile - 6 rue Marcel Rivière, Lyon, Rhône, Rhône-Alpes, France

Box Office

Opening Weekend USA:

$18,658, 17 August 2008, Limited Release

Gross USA:

$409,658, 21 December 2008

Company Credits

Production Co:

Alicéléo,Alicéléo Cinéma,France 2 Cinéma

Technical Specs

Sound Mix:

Dolby Dolby SR DTS Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

This film was inspired by the assassination of New York architect Stanford White in 1906, and his connection with the dancer Evelyn Nesbit. The same case was handled in the cinema by Richard Fleischer in The Girl in the Red Velvet Swing (1955) , with Ray Milland and Joan Collins interpreting the pair of lovers, and by Milos Forman in Ragtime (1981) , with Elizabeth McGovern and Norman Mailer.

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Quotes

Gabrielle Aurore Deneige: What do you do for a living?
Paul André Claude Gaudens: I live.

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Soundtracks

ELLE A AU FOND DES YEUX
Performed by Julien Clerc
Music by Maurice Vallet
Lyrics by Julien Clerc
(C) 1972 Les editions Cracelles SA / Editions et Productions Sidonie SA
Avec l'autorisation des editions et productions Sidonie SA
& EMI Music Publishing France SA
(P) 1972 EMI Music France - avec l'aimable autorisation de EMI Music Freance

User Reviews

Old Man Look at my Life

Greetings again from the darkness. With splashes of dark humor, I mostly found the film depressing. There are few things more disheartening than a totally desperate woman longing to be loved by one jerk, let alone two.

Luckily, this desperate woman is played by the gorgeous Ludivine Sagnier (from the far superior Swimming Pool). She is a TV weathergirl and talk show host who falls completely for an old man novelist (played very well by Francois Berleand). When she is spurned by the old guy, totally annoying, rich boy stalker comes along to rescue her. Trust fund baby Paul is played creepily by Benoit Magimel, who steals most of his scenes.

Directed by French master Claude Chabrol, the film just never allowed me to connect with any of the players. They all seemed to hate themselves and have no respect for anyone else. Quite the party, eh? The performances are such that it is watchable though I would have appreciated a more detailed characterization throughout the script. One simple question ... why did she fall for the old man? Just a baffling development for me.