Une Vieille Maîtresse

Libertine Ryno de Marigny (Aattou) must extricate himself from a ten-year affair before marrying Hermanegarde (Mesquida), a young flower of nineteenth century French aristocracy. However, he is determinedly drawn to his lover, Vellini (Argento), unable to pull himself back from self-destruction. From the moment she appears on screen, as a lounging odalisque, Vellini is the perfect temptress. Ryno and Vellini cling to each other in furious and increasingly debasing sexual encounters, which Ryno describes as a kind of 'barbarous rape'. Every scene is intense and highly charged with the characters' self-loathing but they seem strangely soulless and the story moves slowly, diminishing the film's overall intensity. The sets and costumes are sumptuous, the actors impossibly beautiful, but there is no trace of nostalgia for a bygone age: the effect is pure claustrophobia. Breillat brings together all the necessary ingredients for a feast of French period drama: sex, death, adultery, violence and revenge; yet despite so much fine eye candy, the result is ultimately unsatisfying.

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