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Thérèse
Thérèse Desqueyroux
Directed by
Claude Miller
Produced by Yves Marmion
Screenplay by Claude Miller and Natalie Carter Based on the novel by François Mauriac
Produced by Yves Marmion
Screenplay by Claude Miller and Natalie Carter Based on the novel by François Mauriac
With:
Audrey Tautou, Gilles Lellouche, Anaïs Demoustier, Catherine Arditi, Isabelle Sadoyan, Francis Perrin, Jean-Claude Calon, Max Morel, Françoise Goubert, Stanley Weber, Alba Gaïa Kraghede Bellugi, and Matilda Marty-Giraut
Cinematography:
Gérard de Battista
Editing: Véronique Lange
Editing: Véronique Lange
Runtime:
110 min
Release Date: 21 November 2012
Aspect Ratio: 2.35 : 1
Color: Color
Release Date: 21 November 2012
Aspect Ratio: 2.35 : 1
Color: Color
Thérèse Desqueyroux, the final
film from director Claude Miller (L'Effrontée, The Little Thief, The
Accompanist), is an assured French period drama adapted from the
François Mauriac novel. Miller magnificently captures the 1920s provincial
environment through gorgeous visual compositions, setting the novel’s human
characters both in harmony and in contrast with the natural environment that
defines so much of who they are. The sumptuous color and detail on display goes
a long way towards keeping this rather staid narrative interesting.
Unfortunately, the lead performance of Audrey Tautou does not captivate. There
are far fewer emotions in Thérèse than we are used to seeing the
dynamic Tautou play. She appears to be straitjacketed by the role and unable to
make that scene of restriction work for the character. One of the themes of
this story is that not all actions are understandable or explainable, and
Thérèse must be a bit of an enigma for that theme to come
through. But I wish Miller and Tautou had found a way to make her more
mysterious and fascinating. Still, I was never
bored by this languid and observational social critique.
bored by this languid and observational social critique.