Cast: Miou-Miou, Charles Berling, Stanislas Merhar, Mathilde Seigner
Director: Anne Fontaine
Producers: Philippe Carcassonne, Alain Sarde
Screenplay: Anne Fontaine, Gilles Taurand
Cinematography: Caroline Champetier
U.S. Distributor: Strand Releasing
Dry Cleaning is a tale of love, lust, and laundry - three elements essential to almost every life. Director Anne Fontaine (Augustin) has parted the conservative veil cloaking a traditional, middle class marriage and uncovered betrayals, repression, and assorted other unhealthy elements. While these things are buried, the couple is content, but, when they begin to surface, the union crumbles. What at first appears to be a study of mid life crises, love triangles, and marital infidelity turns into a more compelling piece as it gradually reveals the reasons why each member of this relationship is a willing participant. Complex characters are the keys to making this familiar material seem fresh. And, as a bonus, viewers get a lesson in the behind-the-scenes workings of a dry cleaner's.
When the film begins, 40-somethings Jean-Marie and Nicole Kunstler (Charles Berling and Miou-Miou) are a seemingly happily married couple in the small town of Belfort, France. Their home is an apartment over the dry cleaning business they run together, and their live-in family includes Jean-Marie's mother, Yvette (Nanou Meister), and their son, Pierre (Noé Pflieger). One night, they take a walk on the wild side by visiting a racy local club and are intrigued by a show they see there, "The Queens of the Night." It's a sister/brother duo dressed in gold lamé outfits who dance around while lip synching to pop tunes. The next day, the male half of the pair, Loic (Stanislas Merhar), comes into Nicole and Jean-Marie's establishment to get his drag outfit cleaned. This leads to a late-night rendezvous where Nicole and Jean-Marie almost engage in a foursome with Loic and Loic's sister, Marylin (Mathilde Seigner), but Jean-Marie becomes uncomfortable and calls it off.
After this, Nicole becomes increasingly restless, and Jean-Marie, looking for a way to pacify her, suggests a trip to Basel, Switzerland, where the Queens of the Night are performing. After a watching a show, they go backstage to re-introduce themselves. Loic doesn't remember them, but he has more important things on his mind. Marylin is leaving with her boyfriend, putting Loic out of work. Jean-Marie and Nicole invite him to visit them in Belfort if he's ever around - an offer he soon takes them up on. Not long afterwards, he is living with them in their apartment and working in the shop. It doesn't take him long to seduce Nicole, but Jean-Marie, to whom Loic is equally attracted, proves to be a more reluctant prey.
For Nicole, Loic's presence offers a measure of freedom from a marriage that has become constricting. It's clear that she still feels something for Jean-Marie, but not even she understands the nature of her emotions where he is concerned. Does she love him or is she with him simply out of a sense of duty and responsibility? From her perspective, their sex life is clearly not fulfilling. The moment she first looks into Loic's eyes, she becomes aware of the bars on her cage. Having Loic living under the same roof, however, is the perfect solution. But it's not one that can last.
Loic, on the other hand, is a free spirit. He enjoys sex in its many forms and isn't afraid to proposition someone he's interested in. But for Loic, it's not the sex that keeps him with the Kunstlers, but the chance to be a part of the family. He relishes the calm security of living in such a setting - something that he, as an orphan, has never experienced. He becomes a reliable worker in the business and a faithful "older brother" to Pierre. Sex is the currency by which he repays his benefactors for this newfound sense of security.
Jean-Marie knows about the affair between Nicole and Loic almost from the beginning, but he neither questions it nor attempts to stop it. He is, however, bothered by it, but not necessarily for the expected reasons. Nicole's infidelity disturbs him, but not as much as his feelings for Loic. It quickly becomes obvious that Jean-Marie hides deeply-repressed homosexual tendencies, but, in striving to be "normal," he refuses to admit them even to himself. When Loic, who senses their presence, confronts Jean-Marie, the older man reacts with anger and confusion.
Three strong performances bring to life the trio of individuals who form Dry Cleaning's backbone. Miou-Miou, who has been working in French cinema since the early 1970s, radiates both weariness and caged sensuality. Charles Berling, who had the lead in 1996's Ridicule, presents his character as a study in confusion and uncertainty. Berling understands that Jean-Marie is trapped between a need to remain in his comfortable, traditional lifestyle and the desire to break free by succumbing to the forbidden. It's an internal war that nearly destroys him. Finally, Stanislas Merhar, in an astonishing debut (which won him the Cesar, or French Oscar), shows the longing underlying Loic's wildness.
Dry Cleaning is a slowly paced motion picture that uses its ominous tone to gradually build the psychological tension. The ending, although admittedly melodramatic, is nevertheless powerful, and the sudden explosiveness of what happens lingers with the viewer afterwards. Many French films are exceptionally erotic, and one might expect this one, which deals frankly and openly with both heterosexual and homosexual relationships, to fall into that category. It doesn't, however. During the course of the movie, there is little nudity, and the sex scenes have a rawness and desperation that are more likely to stir a sense of discomfort than one of arousal. Dry Cleaning is a dark movie, and will reward those who don't mind venturing into its twisted and benighted corridors.
© 1999 James Berardinelli