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IMDbPro

The Woman in the Fifth

Original title: La femme du Vème
  • 20112011
  • RR
  • 1h 24m
IMDb RATING
5.3/10
6.8K
YOUR RATING
Ethan Hawke and Kristin Scott Thomas in The Woman in the Fifth (2011)
A college lecturer flees to Paris after a scandal costs him his job. In the City of Lights, he meets a widow who might be involved in a series of murders.
Play trailer1:56
2 Videos
13 Photos
DramaMysteryThriller
A college lecturer flees to Paris after a scandal costs him his job. In the City of Light, he meets a widow who might be involved in a series of murders.A college lecturer flees to Paris after a scandal costs him his job. In the City of Light, he meets a widow who might be involved in a series of murders.A college lecturer flees to Paris after a scandal costs him his job. In the City of Light, he meets a widow who might be involved in a series of murders.
IMDb RATING
5.3/10
6.8K
YOUR RATING
    • Pawel Pawlikowski
    • Douglas Kennedy(novel)
    • Pawel Pawlikowski(screenplay)
  • Stars
    • Ethan Hawke
    • Kristin Scott Thomas
    • Joanna Kulig
    • Pawel Pawlikowski
    • Douglas Kennedy(novel)
    • Pawel Pawlikowski(screenplay)
  • Stars
    • Ethan Hawke
    • Kristin Scott Thomas
    • Joanna Kulig
  • See production, box office & company info
    • 60User reviews
    • 99Critic reviews
    • 57Metascore
  • See more at IMDbPro
    • Awards

    Videos2

    Theatrical Version
    Trailer 1:56
    Watch Theatrical Version
    U.K. Version
    Trailer 1:53
    Watch U.K. Version

    Photos13

    Ethan Hawke and Joanna Kulig in The Woman in the Fifth (2011)
    Ethan Hawke and Kristin Scott Thomas in The Woman in the Fifth (2011)
    Kristin Scott Thomas in The Woman in the Fifth (2011)
    Ethan Hawke in The Woman in the Fifth (2011)
    Pawel Pawlikowski and Joanna Kulig in The Woman in the Fifth (2011)
    Kristin Scott Thomas in The Woman in the Fifth (2011)
    Ethan Hawke and Kristin Scott Thomas in The Woman in the Fifth (2011)
    Ethan Hawke and Kristin Scott Thomas in The Woman in the Fifth (2011)
    The Woman in the Fifth (2011)
    Ethan Hawke and Kristin Scott Thomas in The Woman in the Fifth (2011)
    Ethan Hawke and Kristin Scott Thomas in The Woman in the Fifth (2011)
    Ethan Hawke and Kristin Scott Thomas in The Woman in the Fifth (2011)

    Top cast

    Edit
    Ethan Hawke
    Ethan Hawke
    • Tom Ricks
    Kristin Scott Thomas
    Kristin Scott Thomas
    • Margit
    Joanna Kulig
    Joanna Kulig
    • Ania
    Samir Guesmi
    Samir Guesmi
    • Sezer
    Delphine Chuillot
    Delphine Chuillot
    • Nathalie
    Julie Papillon
    • Chloé
    Geoffrey Carey
    • Laurent
    Mamadou Minte
    • Omar
    Mohamed Aroussi
    • Moussa
    Jean-Louis Cassarino
    • Dumont
    Judith Burnett
    • Lorraine L'herbert
    Marcela Iacub
    • Isabella
    Wilfred Benaïche
    • Lieutenand Coutard
    Pierre Marcoux
    • Lawyer
    Rosine Favey
    • Lawyer's Translator
    Anne Benoît
    • Teacher
    Grégory Gadebois
    Grégory Gadebois
    • Lieutenant Children Unit
    • (as Grégory Gadebois de la Comédie Française)
    Donel Jack'sman
    • Customs Officer
    • (as Donel Jacks'Man)
      • Pawel Pawlikowski
      • Douglas Kennedy(novel)
      • Pawel Pawlikowski(screenplay)
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

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    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      Second time kristen wash the hair of the Main character. First was The English Patient.
    • Connections
      Featured in The Big Picture: February 2012 (2012)
    • Soundtracks
      Tomaszów
      Written by Julian Tuwim

      Performed bz Ewa Demarczyk

    User reviews60

    Review
    Review
    Featured review
    5/10
    Lots of talent, but doesn't come together
    Despite the promise of a collaboration between Pawel Pawlikowski, Ethan Hawke, Joanna Kulig, and Kristin Scott Thomas set in Paris, this film fizzles into a frustrating, rather dreary mess. In a nutshell, an American writer (Hawke) shows up at his ex-wife's apartment, hoping to see their daughter. She calls the police on him and he flees, and after being robbed on a train, he ends up in a seedy hotel. He takes a shady job to pay for his room, and gets involved with a couple of women, one of whom was the muse for a Hungarian author (Scott Thomas), and another who works at the hotel (Kulig). Things go south when a man trying to blackmail him turns up dead, and the muse (who is also his alibi for the evening in question) turns out to be imaginary.

    The meaning to the film is probably along the lines of an artist struggling with his own sanity, and having to make difficult choices between creative output and family, all while living in impoverished conditions. He tries to write beautiful, touching work but he's doing so in the dingiest of places, the struggle of which has been felt by a large number of artists since time began. While Kulig and Scott Thomas felt rather wasted in their parts, Hawke shows his range here and has several fine moments, which were the highlights of the film.

    Where it falls down is in the narrative, which is too vague and open-ended. I disliked the muse reveal, and thought the murder was an odd bit of drama, things that sent the story over the rails for me. I wondered about what had led to the restraining order which was alluded to early on, and wished that the film had focused more on the dynamic with his ex-wife and child, as opposed to the other women in Paris. How much of this is in the imagination of the author is subject to interpretation and that's kind of interesting, but ultimately it just doesn't come together.
    helpful•1
    0
    • gbill-74877
    • Mar 7, 2022

    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • November 16, 2011 (France)
      • France
      • Poland
      • United Kingdom
      • Official site
      • TVP VOD
      • English
      • French
      • Polish
    • Also known as
    • Filming locations
      • 131 Rue des Poissonniers, Paris 18, Paris, France
    • Production companies
      • Haut et Court
      • Film4
      • UK Film Council
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Box office

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    See detailed box office info on IMDbPro

    Technical specs

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    • 1 hour 24 minutes
      • Color
      • Dolby Digital

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