Gabrielle (2005)

Synopsis: GABRIELLE is Patrice Chéreau's stunning adaptation of the short story "The Return" by Joseph Conrad. Recreating turn-of-the-century France with superb attention to detail, Chéreau casts an unrelenting gaze on the marital breakdown that overwhelms a middle-aged bourgeois couple,... GABRIELLE is Patrice Chéreau's stunning adaptation of the short story "The Return" by Joseph Conrad. Recreating turn-of-the-century France with superb attention to detail, Chéreau casts an unrelenting gaze on the marital breakdown that overwhelms a middle-aged bourgeois couple, played with chilling precision by Isabelle Huppert and Pascal Greggory. Co-written by Chéreau and Anne-Louise Trividic, the film premiered at the 2005 Venice Film Festival and has since played at the Toronto, New York and San Francisco film festivals. The opening shots mirror the first paragraphs of Conrad's story, as wealthy Parisian Monsieur Hervey (Greggory) descends from a train into the teeming bustle of the city. While on his way home, he reflects on the success of his life and the fortress of security he has built around himself. It is not long before his self-satisfaction is rudely shattered when he discovers a letter from his wife, Gabrielle (Huppert), waiting for him on his sideboard. The contents of the message will crumble that security and plunge him into newfound feelings of vulnerability, abandonment and betrayal. Husband and wife soon find themselves engaged in a parry-and-thrust of emotions that change mid-sentence and stretch their ability to function and live in the same house. Chéreau's films have always been marked by their dark, unrelenting penetration of the human psyche and this film is no exception. In its intensity and sharp-eyed focus on the perils and pitfalls of marriage, the film has a deep emotive power which recalls the films of Ingmar Bergman. The film is also filled with moments of sublime visual power; cinematographer Eric Gautier sculpts light and shadow into magical patterns. The combination of atmospheric settings, ardent performances and painterly camerawork makes Gabrielle a magical and absorbing piece of cinema. -- © IFC Films [More]