Cinema Wednesdays - Loris S. Musumeci
«Alas, Chloe, there are no monsters, there are only human beings, like you, me and Paul.»
The monstrosity, Chloé - played by Marine Vacth, sex symbol of Young and pretty - knows her through her excruciating stomachaches. She's been on a multitude of diets, even giving up gluten, but nothing helps. Vagina under observation on close-up screen. «I think it's mostly psychological, in your head,» says her gynecologist. So she sends her to a psychoanalyst, Paul Meyer - Jérémie Renier, part of him anyway.
Therapy proceeds gently, with kindness and listening. Too much kindness, which ends up uniting doctor and patient under Aphrodite. Fortunately, troubled Chloé is better. Her pain has burned away under the fire of love. She moves in with Paul, and even finds a job as a janitor at a contemporary art museum. The couple translates the joy of a soothing relationship into incessant, unrestrained copulation. Paul even asks Chloé to marry him! Thrilled by so much affection, she accepts. But it all breaks apart when she leaves the museum where she works and sees her partner with another woman. He denies it. «It wasn't me.»
The young woman wants to know for sure and, following some intrusive research into her future husband's affairs, she discovers that he has a twin. He, too, is a psychoanalyst. She needs to know and understand. It's a rendezvous, in secret. The surprise is confirmed: Louis Delord - Jérémie Renier's other half - couldn't be more identical to his twin. But less fine, more incisive. «We'll see next time if you're an interesting person, or a little cunt.» Delicate, isn't it? And yet, Chloe enjoys such aggression in the appearance of the tender man she loves. But she must find out why these two brothers ignore each other so completely. A mystery of family depths.
Divided criticism
The Double Lover received two kinds of critical acclaim at Cannes: some loved it, others hated it. François Ozon, the director, will never be unanimous. Nevertheless, there remains a more nuanced, even schizophrenic, position towards the «psycho-sexual thriller»: admiration and disgust all at once. Luscious of enigma and filthy with fornication taken to extremes. If Yann Moix is to be believed, that's a pretty good sign. Admiring but disturbed by the story of Chloé, Paul and Louis, in ONPC («On n'est pas couché», on France 2) Cannes special on May 27, he said: «Perhaps the definition of a classic is a film that disturbed us at the time it was released.»
A potential classic? I don't see why not. In any case, Ozon's new film has some serious flaws. Most notably, its pathetic side. From lines like «When you look at me like that, I tell myself I exist», which are meant to sound philosophical, or «Are you mad at me?», to «I love you, my love», worthy of the worst soap operas. And then there's the originality of seeing a shrink fall in love with his ultra-canon patient!
Then there's the very arrogant side that disturbs: the poor little Parisian world has a very stressful and intense life, so inevitably it rubs up against more existential questioning leading to depression. A bit smug, the posh backdrop of the stylish capital. The attitude of the actors in the same’ONPC This aspect of the film is not enhanced by Cannes. Especially that of Jérémie Renier, who comments, cross-legged, on his own exceptional talent for playing two roles in a single story.
Enigma of the double
Blame aside, every cinephile inevitably falls under the spell of the photography - after that of Marine Vacth! Everything in the mise-en-scène is double: reflections of the Seine, of a mirror, of a gaze, of the paintings on display at the art museum. The decor of the cabinet from one twin to the other, similar and different. Everything unfolds in parallel, right down to the script, where disquieting repetitions grip the searching viewer to his seat. There is indeed a real quest for truth, which sometimes seems a foregone conclusion, sometimes light-years away. The film is playful, insofar as it encourages the construction of a puzzle that will remain unfinished. It's a real stroke of genius.
As for the theme, where twins, blood and the revelation of the past tear at the fabric of a genealogy that claims to have no link to the present, this is Mouawad converted to cinema. At times, it's as if we were in the tragic tetralogy of Blood of Promises. And here too, opinions are divided between a style that's repulsive because it's too complex, but bewitching because of its highly literary plot. It was to be expected: The Double Lover deserves its differences.
«Some people discover, when they're adults, that they carry their brother's foetus inside them. Cannibal twins.»
Write to the author: loris.musumeci@leregardlibre.com
Photo credit: © Mars Films
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