LE DIVORCE
When Isabel Walker (Hudson) sets off from her home in California
for a prolonged visit to her pregnant sister Roxanne de Persand
(Watts) in Paris, she doesn’t realize that she is walking
into the middle of a marital breakup. Even as she arrives, Roxanne’s
French husband Charles-Henri (Melvil Poupaud) is walking out the
door, leaving his wife, their young daughter Gennie (Esmée
Buchet-Deak), and the unborn baby Roxanne is carrying. Although
the situation saddens Isabel, she can’t help but enjoy the
Parisian lifestyle, and she soon gets a job organizing the literary
papers of noted liberal American poet and women’s activist
Olivia Pace (Glenn Close), who is donating them to the University
of Tulsa. Meanwhile she falls in love with a scruffy Frenchman
named Yves (Romain Duris), who also works for Pace. Her affair
with him is put on hold, however, when she becomes attracted to
a wealthy diplomat named Edgar Cossett (Thierry Lhermitte), a
politician with the sexual appetites of Bill Clinton and the politics
of George W. Bush. But better looking than either. And he’s
also the brother of Charles-Henri’s propriety-obsessed mother
(Leslie Caron).
Isabel’s romantic pursuits could be considered the typical
adventures of any young woman in Paris, but trouble starts when
Roxanne’s in-law family seeks legal counsel regarding the
separation of property between her and Charles-Henri. The dispute
particularly concerns a beautiful painting of Ste. Ursula, the
patron saint of young girls, which may or may not have been painted
by the famous 17th-century French artist Georges de La Tour (and
therefore could be worth millions). The painting, given to Charles-Henri
and Roxanne as a wedding present by her parents (Sam Waterston,
Stockard Channing), was a Walker family heirloom for generations,
but since it was a gift to the couple, his family claims joint
ownership. Soon all the above family members and others join together
for a strained summit meeting on the situation, culminating in
an ill-fated trip to the Eiffel Tower.
Although this film has its lighthearted moments, it probably
shouldn’t be seen by anyone going through a painful separation,
as it seems mostly to be about people being careless with each
other’s hearts. Few of the characters are really likable
people, as most are either obsessed with money, appearances, or
themselves, and therefore it is somewhat difficult to bond with
any of them. However, the beautiful scenery of Paris is presented
with the traditional style of a Merchant/Ivory production, and
although this is not a period piece, it is clear the wardrobe
department was doing its best to provide clothing to counteract
the character problem, offering a wide variety of garments showcasing
the versatility of Hudson’s fabulous derrière. Hudson
is of course her cute, bubbly self, and even when her butt is
offscreen, she carries herself admirably and reaches some emotional
colors which betray her underrated talent for real acting. Watts
is similarly effective; although her character is less prominent
and she spends most of the film being hurt, angry, and/or weepy,
while growing in size all the time, she is able to achieve a subtlety
of behavior that can be quite arrestingly real.
The film’s conclusion turns out much more happily than most divorces probably do, but, well, Paris is the city of light, isn’t it? ****
