Four Lovers (2010)

What are adult love affairs ? Two couples meet and fall in love, lose sight of each other in the confusion and end up pulling through.

Director:

Antony Cordier

Writers:

Antony Cordier, Julie Peyr

Stars:

Marina Foïs, Élodie Bouchez, Roschdy Zem

2 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Marina Foïs	...	Rachel
Élodie Bouchez	...	Teri
Roschdy Zem	...	Franck
Nicolas Duvauchelle	...	Vincent
Jean-François Stévenin	...	Le père de Rachel
Alexia Stresi	...	Diane
Blanche Gardin	...	La soeur de Rachel
Geneviève Mnich	...	La mère de Franck
Philippe Paimblanc	...	Le père de Franck
Naomi Ferreira	...	Margot
Ilona Caly	...	Thelma
Ferdinand Ledoux	...	Tim
Ya Hui Chan	...	La petite amie de Diane
Nathalie Raiman	...	(as Nathalie Roche)
Eric Kailey

Storyline

Story of two comfortable, affably married Parisian couples. When Rachel's jewelry business delivers to her web designer Vincent, their mutual attraction is readily apparent. It isn't long before Rachel invites Vincent and his wife Teri to dinner. Everything is very pleasant, relaxed and shabby-chic, very savoir-vivre. The instant physical chemistry between Teri and Rachel's husband, Franck is also obvious. After they've shared a few drops of wine and a large dose of metaphor, all revolving around a ping-pong table, Teri and Franck kiss. Everyone is mildly shocked, yet more intrigued and they handle it with a rather jejune sophistication. Soon they are regularly putting their sex lives on shuffle, passionately partner-swapping with an abandon that is both respectful and injurious to their ongoing marriages. At first they consensually agree to set no rules and enjoy themselves. As their feelings become more complicated they're forced to question modern relationships, responsibilities ...

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Plot Keywords:

ass licking | polyamory | lesbian flirting | sex with food | female full frontal nudity | 

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Taglines:

A mature and brave look at modern relationships.

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Genres:

Romance

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Certificate:

Unrated

Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook

Country:

France

Language:

French English

Release Date:

30 March 2012 (USA)

Also Known As:

Four Lovers

Filming Locations:

Montreuil, Seine-Saint-Denis, France

Box Office

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$78,924

Company Credits

Production Co:

Why Not U.S., Why Not Productions, France 2 Cinéma

Technical Specs

Runtime:

103 min

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Connections

Features Nenette and Boni (1996)

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Soundtracks

End Titles
Written by Frédéric Verrières, Nicholas Lemercier and Antony Cordier

User Reviews

Frank French

"Physical infidelity is the signal, the notice given, that all fidelities are undermined." Katherine Anne Porter

Polyamory is tricky for the best of lovers, so put two couples into mate-swapping, with kids in the mix and professions pushing time limits, and you have a perfectly French sex drama not easy on anyone involved.

Oh, in Four Lovers it's initially easy enough, as attractive as the principals are and as conducive the circumstances: Vincent (Nicolas Duvaunchelle), a blonde boy/man with tattoos and Web designing occupation, connects with Rachel (Marina Fois), a boutique jeweler; her husband, Franck (Roschdy Zem), is a coffee-table erotic book writer/photographer, who through deft massaging connects with Vincent's Teri, a former Olympic gymnast of half American blood. Sensuality abounds through most of the film with no apparent jealousy as everyone knows what's up. Only when the kids need attention or a diary is read does the edginess of this hanky-panky surface. And then it's all still very much subdued. It's unusual not to witness crying and shouting as the inevitable challenges arise. But then it's discomforting not to have discourse among the principals about their infidelities. The film's so cool as to be almost passionless.

Unlike Mike Nichols' Closer, starring Julia Roberts and Clive Owen, which has a similar situation with four acquaintances unfaithful to each other, Closer has a decidedly US/Brit clandestine, guilt cast to it. But it is full of witty dialogue that helps us deconstruct their astonishing selfishness and disregard for feelings.

I had assumed the French Four Lovers approach would be the opposite: open, relaxed, sensitive, sensual, and surviving. I was right: It's a different world from the Catholic one I grew up in, but it seems the same demons show up in different disguises.

Even the French can't find this arrangement tenable over the long haul.

"I don't want to sell myself short. You hurt your spouse, not so much by the infidelity, but by the negative feelings about yourself that you bring home." Michael Zaslow