Cast: Karin Viard, Pierre-Loup Rajot, Catherine Frot, Sergi Lopez
Director: Catherine Corsini
Producer: Paulo Branco
Screenplay: Catherine Corsini, Marc Syrigas
Cinematography: Agnès Godard
U.S. Distributor: Sceneries Distribution
In French with subtitles
There is a tendency amongst art-house film goers to show favoritism towards a subtitled film, especially if the spoken language is French. This is understandable, since many of the most challenging movies to arrive on American screens over the years have hailed from the birthplace of Chopin and DeGaulle. There's the work of Truffaut, Godard, Kieslowski (who, despite being Polish, elected to shoot three of his best films - The Double Life of Veronique, Blue, and Red - in French), Rohmer, Chabrol, Berri,... However, just because a movie is French doesn't mean that it automatically occupies a high dramatic or creative perch. A case in point is The New Eve, a soap opera-like tale of one disturbed woman's search for happiness. In terms of plot, the movie is distressingly banal, with an uninspired storyline and a muddled conclusion.
The film's lone apparent asset is lead actress Karin Viard, who plays the mercurial Camille, a 30-ish French woman enjoying a dissolute life of drugs and carefree sex until she unexpectedly falls in love. Viard throws herself into the role with abandon, transforming the Camille of the written page into a vibrant, sympathetic individual. I was frankly surprised to find myself caring this much for a character in a movie that trudges across such familiar terrain. Viard has a pixie-like, expressive face that she uses to its fullest advantage. Her features convey far more emotion than any of the flat dialogue assigned to her by director Catherine Corsini's script (co-written with Marc Syrigas).
The film is a story in two acts. During the first, we follow Camille as she undergoes the hand-wringing ordeal of falling in love with a happily married man. Despite being an activist for the Socialist Party, Alexis (Pierre-Loup Rajot) has a conventional home life that consists of a comfortable place to live, a wife, and two children. Initially oblivious to Camille's feelings (even though everyone else recognizes them for what they are), Alexis offers no more than friendly emotional support to the frustrated young woman. Eventually, however, she confesses her obsessive love to him. This leads to a big fight in which Camille vows never again to see Alexis. A couple of scenes later, her unrequited love has been requited, and the two of them are in bed together. The rest of the film attempts to show how difficult the life of a mistress is - until a confused (and confusing) ending that is likely to leave most viewers dissatisfied (or at least wondering what happened to the expository material).
Camille isn't the most stable personality on the planet. She goes through mood swings with pretty high amplitudes, takes refuge in casual sex and drugs, and engages in a variety of self-destructive behavior. It's clear that she has some psychological problems, but her lone attempt at "therapy" constitutes sleeping with a shrink in exchange for a brief session. This facet of Camille's personality is the most interesting, but it's also the least developed. For the most part, Corsini uses it as a means to move the plot along; The New Eve isn't interested in offering a deep psychological profile of its main character.
Aside from Camille, there isn't a well-developed character to be found. Everyone else is a type - the torn husband/father/lover, the jealous wife, and the ex-boyfriend who's interested in starting things up again. Although there are isolated scenes that offer strong insight (such as the understated poolside confrontation between Camille and Alexis' wife), there are also occasions when watching The New Eve becomes a tedious experience, precisely because much of what it offers is shallow and familiar. From a technical standpoint, Corsini's direction is competent, although the tone is uneven. Ultimately, there's little in this film other than Viard's performance to catch or hold a viewer's attention.
© 2000 James Berardinelli