The New Girlfriend (2014)

A young woman makes a surprising discovery about the husband of her late best friend.

Director:

François Ozon

Writers:

Ruth Rendell (novel), François Ozon (screenplay)

Stars:

Romain Duris, Anaïs Demoustier, Raphaël Personnaz

1 win & 7 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Romain Duris	...	David / Virginia
Anaïs Demoustier	...	Claire
Raphaël Personnaz	...	Gilles
Isild Le Besco	...	Laura
Aurore Clément	...	Liz, la mère de Laura
Jean-Claude Bolle-Reddat	...	Robert, le père de Laura
Bruno Pérard	...	Eva Carlton
Claudine Chatel	...	La nounou
Anita Gillier	...	Infirmière
Alex Fondja	...	Aide-soignant
Zita Hanrot	...	Serveuse restaurant
Pierre Fabiani	...	Homme salon de thé
Mayline Dubois	...	Laura 7 ans
Anna Monedière	...	Claire 7 ans
Brune Kalnykow	...	Lucie 7 ans

Storyline

Claire and Laura have been friends since primary school. Now, in their adult lives, with each happily married, to Gilles and David respectively, they are as close as ever. Then Laura dies after an illness and Claire's world is suddenly very empty. Being the godmother of Laura's child, Lucie, Claire visits David and Lucie, only to discover he has a startling secret...

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Plot Keywords:

man dressed as a woman | transvestism | mistaken for gay | pantyhose | high heels | 

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Taglines:

Ozon's farce on the French Farce of comedy.

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Genres:

Drama

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for some strong sexual content and graphic nudity

Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook Official site [Japan]

Country:

France

Language:

French

Release Date:

18 September 2015 (USA)

Also Known As:

Je suis femme

Filming Locations:

Studios de Paris, La Cité du Cinéma, Saint-Denis, Seine-Saint-Denis, France

Box Office

Opening Weekend USA:

$37,502, 25 September 2015, Limited Release

Gross USA:

$130,265, 4 October 2015

Company Credits

Production Co:

Mandarin Films, FOZ, Mars Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

108 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

When baby Lucie is being fed by bottle, a kind of little toy radio is playing. The attentive listener will recognize a fragment of the Goldberg Variations (BWV 988) by J.S. Bach.

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Connections

References Angel (2007)

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Soundtracks

Une femme avec toi
(uncredited)
Performed by Anaïs Demoustier

User Reviews

Boys will be girls

The first film I saw which had a transvestite character was The Damned, some 50 years ago. In the intervening years we've had any number of accounts of a man (why almost always a man?) who has to dress as a woman. Ozon's film has a stale air about it which works against our enjoyment.

For me Anais Demoustier is the sole strong actor in this; Duris and Personnaz give capable support but she must carry the story, and carry it she does very memorably. The feeling is always that punches are being pulled, that possibly painful moments are being glossed over. I expected more anger from Personnaz's character when he discovered the deception (the weekend in the country with Duris, instead of the mother's house). Everybody is so well behaved, it doesn't ring true. La Cage aux Folles had more sting to it, you knew how bigoted some people were.

I haven't really enjoyed an Ozon film since 8 femmes of 2002. He's coasting, giving us tried and true subjects and clichéd situations.