What could be worse then a stellar cast in a bad film? Kate Hudson, Naomi Watts,
Glenn Close, Sam Waterston, Stockard Channing, Matthew Modine, and Bebe Neuwirth
make up the ensemble of Le Divorce, a film which critics referred
to as “a stylish, romantic comedy” but which this critic calls a
disappointing waste of talent.
The story opens when Isabel Walker (Kate Hudson) arrives in Paris to visit
her pregnant sister Roxanne (Naomi Watts). An artist’s wife and poet herself,
Roxanne comes home to find her French husband, Charles-Henri, guiltily leaving
her and their daughter with no explanation. She is forced to confront his affluent,
conservative family for lunch and hide the truth while made a fool by their
taboo conversations about adultery. Settling into her new surroundings, Isabel
takes on a job helping American author Olivia Pace—a dear friend of Roxanne’s—and
quickly ends up in bed with Olivia’s house painter, Eve. While one sister
innocently seeks romance and the freedom of a new life, the other sister slowly
crumbles from the pressures of an embarrassing divorce. The plot could have
developed well enough from there…
And yet there are so many more intricate details still to be tossed into the
mix! Roxanne’s middle-aged Uncle Edgar (by marriage) is a man with dashing
looks, political power, and a fetish for young and vulnerable women. He fancies
Isabel, proposes that she become his mistress, and she is soon swept up into
a fantasy of style and romance. Charles-Henri is indeed having an affair with
a Russian woman named Magda, whose jealous, American husband (Matthew Modine)
stalks Isabel and her sister in an effort to beg Roxanne for some sort of salvation.
(Are you still with me?) And oh—almost forgot! Chester and Margaret Walker
(Sam Waterston & Stockard Channing) and their son, Roger, set aside concern
for their troubled daughters in Paris and presume that a painting hanging in
Roxanne’s house may be worth millions. If she and her husband divorce
and are forced to divide property, the painting may never return to them in
California. So they send in a team of experts to appraise the painting and discover
its authenticity. Meanwhile, the ultimate scandal begins when Roxanne’s
in-laws become aware of the adulterous actions of the men in their family.
Let’s just say that this film failed miserably in so many ways. Based
on the novel by best-selling author Diane Johnson, the screenplay is filled
with holes. It’s as if the writers tried to squeeze an intricately detailed
story into a nice, two-hour movie. I call it the “cut-and-paste effect."
In other words, there are a series of unfinished scenes glued together to create
a story. The viewer is then left puzzled and desperate to make sense of a plot
with too many subplots. And the big question is, how does it all fit together?
With so much storytelling going on, little room is left for character development.
Both Roxanne and Isabel are fragile characters, victims of passion for French
culture and romance. Yet I felt no sympathy for either woman’s peril.
Naomi Watts is perfectly suited for playing dull, abandoned women (anyone who
has seen 21 Grams should agree). And although Kate Hudson’s
spunk can light up a screen, her character’s adventurous relationships
are lost within the story’s pandemonium.
Maybe the French have a different sense of humor, but I found absolutely no
comedy in this film. Not only are the tone dry and the pace torturously slow,
but the film actually takes a dramatic turn toward becoming a tragedy. Roxanne’s
sudden attempted suicide fosters Isabel’s guilt for selfishly pursuing
her scandalous relationship, and brings the Walker family to Paris. However,
they are all too consumed by greed over the painting’s worth to invest
any concern as to their daughter’s well-being. (This is one of many examples
of how the subplots are left unfinished.) Oh yeah…remember the crazy,
stalker husband? He makes a few strange appearances, then he desperately commits
a “crime of passion” (how the French romantically refer to murder).
If you’ve read this far, you’re probably saying WHAT??? That’s
exactly my point.
Thank goodness I received a DVD copy without special features, because I don’t
think I could have handled any more disappointment for one evening. If you have
faith, like I do, that these actors should produce better quality films, then
I beg of you…don’t waste your time or money on Le Divorce.
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