In Lyon, the successful middle-aged writer Charles Saint-Denis (François Berléand) lives isolated with his wife Dona Saint-Denis (Valeria Cavalli) in a comfortable house in the country. His friend Capucine Jamet (Mathilda May) invites him to promote his latest novel in a talk show and in an autograph evening in a bookstore. In both occasions, the cynical Charles meets the witty and gorgeous TV weather-girl Gabrielle Aurore Deneige (Ludivine Sagnier), whose mother Marie Deneige (Marie Bunel) works in the bookstore. Meanwhile, Gabrielle is promoted to host a show on television, and is wooed by the arrogant heir to a pharmaceutical fortune Paul André Claude Gaudens (Benoît Magimel), who is Charles' enemy and invites Gabrielle to have dinner with him.
Charles invites Gabrielle to go with him to an auction and then they go to his apartment in Paris. The inexperienced Gabrielle has one night stand with him and falls in love with Charles, who teaches kinky sex to her. Then he brings Gabrielle to a men's club where she is perverted. Sooner Charles travels to London and forgets Gabrielle.
Gabrielle is lovesick and depressed without strength to live. Paul insists in visiting her and finally Marie agrees. Paul and Gabrielle travel to Lisbon and Gabrielle accepts to marry him. She tells to Paul what Charles has done to her and after the wedding, the possessive Paul feels jealous with the experience of Gabrielle on bed. His jealousy leads to a tragedy and Gabrielle has to choose between keeping her intimacy with Charles or disclosing it in court.
"La Fille Coupée en Deux" is the penultimate film by Claude Chabrol with the story of a naive and gorgeous girl divided in two by the love for two scumbags. Ludivine Sagnier is impressively beautiful in this story that has elements of "Bitter Moon", with the cruelty and perversions of a man to a woman in love with him.
Chabrol, as usual, does not disclose everything and the viewer that shall use his or her imagination to guess the sort of kink sex and perversions the gorgeous Gabrielle has been submitted since neither in the club nor in court the viewer sees or hears anything. However, it seems that when Charles tells that Gabrielle could be the last girl he brings to his apartment, he seems to be interested in her innocence and lack of experience. When she accepts to go to the club and have sex with his friends, he loses the interest on her. I only do not see where people have seen comedy or black comedy in the plot of this great film. My vote is eight.
Title (Brazil): "Uma Garota Dividida em Dois" ("A Girl Divided in Two")
Charles invites Gabrielle to go with him to an auction and then they go to his apartment in Paris. The inexperienced Gabrielle has one night stand with him and falls in love with Charles, who teaches kinky sex to her. Then he brings Gabrielle to a men's club where she is perverted. Sooner Charles travels to London and forgets Gabrielle.
Gabrielle is lovesick and depressed without strength to live. Paul insists in visiting her and finally Marie agrees. Paul and Gabrielle travel to Lisbon and Gabrielle accepts to marry him. She tells to Paul what Charles has done to her and after the wedding, the possessive Paul feels jealous with the experience of Gabrielle on bed. His jealousy leads to a tragedy and Gabrielle has to choose between keeping her intimacy with Charles or disclosing it in court.
"La Fille Coupée en Deux" is the penultimate film by Claude Chabrol with the story of a naive and gorgeous girl divided in two by the love for two scumbags. Ludivine Sagnier is impressively beautiful in this story that has elements of "Bitter Moon", with the cruelty and perversions of a man to a woman in love with him.
Chabrol, as usual, does not disclose everything and the viewer that shall use his or her imagination to guess the sort of kink sex and perversions the gorgeous Gabrielle has been submitted since neither in the club nor in court the viewer sees or hears anything. However, it seems that when Charles tells that Gabrielle could be the last girl he brings to his apartment, he seems to be interested in her innocence and lack of experience. When she accepts to go to the club and have sex with his friends, he loses the interest on her. I only do not see where people have seen comedy or black comedy in the plot of this great film. My vote is eight.
Title (Brazil): "Uma Garota Dividida em Dois" ("A Girl Divided in Two")