Marie and Paul, who are lovers, are a mismatched pair. The fact that Marie's sexual expectations are not fulfilled by the elusive Paul, can be traced to the fact that he is a model, who might be bisexual and who might care for Marie, or just be repulsed by her directness. The sad fact is that Marie feels abandoned by the same man she loves.
The first clue of the way Marie and Paul are incompatible can be observed at the photographic shoot sequence at the beginning of the film. Paul is being made up in front of our eyes. He seems to be a narcissistic man in love with his looks. The way he poses for the camera gives us an indication where his mind is and when Marie tries to get his attention in bed, his attitude shows us a man who is not interested in having sex.
Marie goes into a life of adventure finding sexual relief in the furtive meetings she is seen engaging in with men that only want to satisfy themselves. It's only Robert who captures what Marie is all about. As they begin a series of kinky encounters, Paul appears not to even suspect what Marie is doing. His proposal of marriage comes quite unexpectedly even though they have been living together for a while.
Marriage brings a change in the way Marie looks at sex, but finds ways to make her visits to the doctor play tricks in her imagination as she is examined by a group of assistants. When labor begins, it's Robert who she contacts because Marie realizes he is in the same wave length and Paul, who never wakes up from his drunken stupor, never knows what hits him.
Catherine Breillat shows she has no fear in the way she presents her films. She is frank about the way she perceives Marie's situation. Ms. Breillat film, like with "A Real Young Girl", bears it all for her viewers. There is nothing left to the imagination, yet, her feminist sensibility is not to be discarded as it makes one thinks about this young woman and all what's going on in her mind.
Caroline Duceny plays Marie with conviction. Sagamore Stevisin is seen as Paul and Francois Berland plays Robert. They all respond well to Ms. Breillat's commands.
Obviously, this is not a film for everyone that doesn't want to see it with an open mind. Most of the subtle comments will be lost by the viewer that approaches this film as an erotic, even a pornographic attempt to mix sex for shock value.
The first clue of the way Marie and Paul are incompatible can be observed at the photographic shoot sequence at the beginning of the film. Paul is being made up in front of our eyes. He seems to be a narcissistic man in love with his looks. The way he poses for the camera gives us an indication where his mind is and when Marie tries to get his attention in bed, his attitude shows us a man who is not interested in having sex.
Marie goes into a life of adventure finding sexual relief in the furtive meetings she is seen engaging in with men that only want to satisfy themselves. It's only Robert who captures what Marie is all about. As they begin a series of kinky encounters, Paul appears not to even suspect what Marie is doing. His proposal of marriage comes quite unexpectedly even though they have been living together for a while.
Marriage brings a change in the way Marie looks at sex, but finds ways to make her visits to the doctor play tricks in her imagination as she is examined by a group of assistants. When labor begins, it's Robert who she contacts because Marie realizes he is in the same wave length and Paul, who never wakes up from his drunken stupor, never knows what hits him.
Catherine Breillat shows she has no fear in the way she presents her films. She is frank about the way she perceives Marie's situation. Ms. Breillat film, like with "A Real Young Girl", bears it all for her viewers. There is nothing left to the imagination, yet, her feminist sensibility is not to be discarded as it makes one thinks about this young woman and all what's going on in her mind.
Caroline Duceny plays Marie with conviction. Sagamore Stevisin is seen as Paul and Francois Berland plays Robert. They all respond well to Ms. Breillat's commands.
Obviously, this is not a film for everyone that doesn't want to see it with an open mind. Most of the subtle comments will be lost by the viewer that approaches this film as an erotic, even a pornographic attempt to mix sex for shock value.