Anne Fontaine with Wladimir Yordanoff, “Nathalie” (2003)
Trust the French to do upper middle class feminist angst with a dash of secret lesbian desire like no-one else on the planet. Gynaecologist Catherine (Fanny Ardant) suspects that hubby Bernard (Gérard Depardieu) of being unfaithful. Does she blow up and have it out with him in the kitchen and turf him out into the streets, only to take him back at the end of the movie, after he’s been through hell and high water and forced to turn over a new leaf psychologically and spiritually, to live happily ever after Hollywood-style? No, zat is not zee French way: as true bored and intellectual rich bourgeois middle-aged professional wife that she is, Catherine consults lap-dancing call-girl Marlene (Emmanuelle Béart) and persuades her to pose as classy courtesan “Nathalie” to seduce Bernard and then relay all the salacious details of the affair as it develops. Viewers can quickly see where this is going: sniffing a great way to financially haul herself out of prostitution, Marlene agrees to the deal, the two women hammer out the necessary verbal contract details, sort out a schedule for meetings and Bernard’s trysts, and Marlene then dutifully goes about her business for her new employer, reporting back on a regular basis.
Low-key and based mostly around dialogue with the action occurring off-screen or just implied for the purposes of the plot so that viewers have to guess what is real and what is not, the film is more sexy and suggestive than full-on and frank. We learn a great deal about the poor state of Catherine and Bernard’s marriage and their inability to communicate, and how this has helped to give rise to Catherine’s suspicions about Bernard’s behaviour when he’s away from her side. This says something about the boredom she feels about her life, regimented in its routine of work, caring for husband and son, attending cultural and intellectual events, and having little time left over for her own needs. There might also be an allusion to the nature of modern French society with its presumption that most middle-aged bourgeois males get bored with their dutiful Catherine-clone workaholic wives and want to play a younger field. Of course there’s no questioning of the broader Western society and values that decree people must live machine lives in which work dominates at the expense of play and relationships. Catherine’s beliefs and fantasies lead her into voyeurism, a one-night stand and shifty behaviour that lead Bernard to suspect that she’s having an affair behind his back!
Fortunately or maybe unfortunately, depending on your viewpoint, the simple and tidy plot resolves the mess Catherine puts herself, Bernard and Marlene into. It could have been very different: Marlene could have blackmailed Catherine for more money by threatening to go public or trashing her office, and Bernard could have walked out on his wife, divorced her and taken up with another woman. However the plot is streamlined to revolve entirely around the trio and the film acquires an insulated, suffocating air that goes well with Catherine’s attempt to control her husband and Marlene’s activities. Naturally of course, Catherine ends up being controlled by her fantasies and desires and by Marlene who sees in Catherine a money spigot and an opportunity to exert her own power over a woman whose economic and social position she aspires to.
The film works well as a lightweight psychology piece if viewers suspend disbelief throughout its running time. The actors don’t appear to take the film all that seriously but glide through the characters’ roles like the professional troupers they are. Béart does a good job as the sultry and calculating blonde temptress. As far Ardant and Depardieu, one can only say they have done better work.
Issues such as the sexist nature of French society that applies double standards to the expression of sexuality among educated professional men and women alike; and the unenviable trap that educated women like Catherine find themselves in as they try to juggle careers, families and relationships: these make their presence felt but the restricted and personalised scope of the film is unable to deal much with them. There’s also little about how sordid prostitution can be and the damage it can do and probably already has done to young women like Marlene who displays a mercenary and cynical attitude to her clients, be they men or even women like Catherine, because they have money, wealth and influence.