Variety
A moving, beautifully modulated adaptation of Guy de Maupassant's novel, in which a young noblewoman copes with the loss of ideals.
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A Woman's Life
An adventurous young 19th-century noblewoman is harshly judged for an unfortunate marriage in this Venice prize-winning period drama.
Normandy, 1819. Jeanne (Judith Chemla) is a young woman full of childish dreams and innocence when she returns home after finishing her schooling in a convent. She marries a local Viscount, Julien de Lamare (Swann Arlaud), who soon reveals himself to be a miserly and unfaithful man. Little by little, Jeanne's illusions are stripped away.
Less2016119 minsFrance, BelgiumFrench with English subtitles
DramaWorld Cinema
- Director:
- Stéphane Brizé ('The Measure of a Man', 'Not Here to be Loved', 'Mademoiselle Chambon')
- Writer:
- Stéphane BrizéFlorence Vignon
- Cast:
- Judith ChemlaJean-Pierre DarroussinSwann ArlaudYolande MoreauNina MeurisseClotilde HesmeAlain BeigelOlivier Perrier
A Woman's Life | Awards
Winner of the FIPRESCI Award for Best Film in Competition, 2016 Venice Film Festival
A Woman's Life | Reviews
The New Yorker
Brizé pays more attention to the tasteful costumes and the alluring settings than to the drama or the images.
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The New York Times
The power of Mr. Brizé's film - and of Ms. Chemla's quietly volcanic performance - lies partly in the way ordinary disasters erupt in Jeanne's life, at once challenging her passivity and emphasising her helplessness.
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Screen Daily
Chemla is a perfect choice for the lead, whether she is exuding happy expectancy from life as a young girl, stubbornly standing by her hopelessly spoiled brat when she shouldn't, or gradually losing her mind towards the end.
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Los Angeles Times
We warm to Jeanne's plight not because it is so relatable or familiar, but rather because every turn feels so vivid and so enveloping.
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Hollywood Reporter
The camerawork, production design and costumes are all impressive, though the technical credit that most deserves a shout-out is the makeup and hair by Garance Van Rossum.
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