Le Divorce
Based on the 1997 National Book Award-nominated novel of the same name by Diane Johnson (co-writer of the script for Stanley Kubrick's The Shining), Le Divorce is a romantic comedy from director James Ivory. Revisiting the "Americans in France" theme that Ivory explored in 1998's A Soldier's Daughter Never Cries, the film stars Kate Hudson as Isabel Walker. When she receives word that her pregnant poetess sister Roxy (Naomi Watts) has been left by her philandering French husband, artist Charles-Henri de Persand (Melvil Poupaud), Isabel offers her help and moral support. As the depressive Roxy struggles with the separation proceedings -- which include the rights to ownership of a work of art that's a family heirloom -- Isabel takes a job with author Olivia Pace and has a fling with the bohemian Yves (Romain Duris). But things get complicated when the younger, more impudent sister decides instead to pursue Charles' uncle, the snooty, married diplomat Edgar (Thierry Lhermitte), and when a mysterious man (Matthew Modine) starts stalking Roxy. Eventually, the rest of the plucky Walker clan has to come to the aid of the siblings. Stockard Channing and Sam Waterston co-star. more..
Director: James Ivory
Starring: Naomi Watts, Kate Hudson, Leslie Caron, Melvil Poupaud, Thierry Lhermitte
A relaxed delight, a series of delicately tongue-in-cheek musings about the clash between American and French cultures.
While there are too many characters in too much story for the movie to really involve us, it's amusing as a series of sketches about how the French think they are a funny race (or the Americans, take your choice).
Acted with relish by a note-perfect cast -- a romantic comedy of true sophistication. There's a sting in every laugh.
Captures the effervescence and playfulness of Johnson's novel, even as it attempts to shoehorn a tangle of characters and situations.
A tasty bonbon, initially appealing but not terribly satisfying.
Naomi Watts
Venice Film Festival (2003)
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