Rating: 
Summary: Virtually worthless as entertainment
Review: Had I not been watching LE DIVORCE with my wife, who seemed marginally entertained, I would likely have walked out.As the film opens, American Isabel Walker (Kate Hudson) is passing through Immigration at Charles DeGaulle Airport in Paris. She's in town to stay with her newly pregnant sister, Roxeanne (Naomi Watts), who's married to Frenchman Charles-Henri de Persand (Melvil Poupaud). Unfortunately, Isabel literally arrives at her sister's residence just as Charles is leaving his wife for another woman. He departs in the same cab that deposits his sister-in-law on the doorstep. As it turns out, Charles is having an affair with Magda, a married Russian girl. Charles wants a divorce; Roxeanne doesn't. Charles comes across as a real piece of bandini. Rather than provide her sister with support, or maybe even just scratch Charles's eyes out, Isabel starts her own affair with fifty-something Edgar (Thierry Lhermitte), an uncle to Charles on his mother's side. The apparent point of this film is to spotlight the differing French and American cultural attitudes towards marriage, sex, divorce, and extra-marital affairs. (Well, duh!) Is it a comedy or a drama? It's hard to tell, and doesn't succeed at either because, except for Roxeanne (with whom an American audience will perhaps strongly sympathize), there are no engaging characters whatsoever. Moreover, several are absolutely useless to the storyline, e.g. an expatriate American writer played by Glenn Close, her scruffy house painter, Magda's jarringly unpleasant and mentally disturbed husband (Matthew Modine), and the Walker parents (Stockard Channing and Sam Waterston). There's also a superfluous subplot involving an old painting, perhaps by a master, perhaps not, inherited by the Walkers, taken to Paris by Roxeanne, and now being fought over by the Walker and de Persand families, the former wishing to auction it off. Finally, a sequence at the very end of a red handbag floating over the rooftops of the city must be one of the stupidest symbolisms, if that's what it was, ever put on film. The absolute sole reason I gave two stars to this waste of my time is that it was filmed in beautiful Paris. There's a sequence involving the Eiffel Tower that, for those who haven't visited the structure, is almost as good as being there. Other than that, unless you're wondering whatever happened to Leslie Caron (who plays Charles's mother), or are a rabid fan of Kate Hudson, don't bother. LE DIVORCE is on my list of the least-deserving 2003 films I've seen.
Rating: 
Summary: Poor Advertising -- Complete Mischaracterization
Review: This film, promoted as a romantic comedy, was much more of a drama than a light-hearted romp through France. As a drama, it was okay -- nothing to write home about -- but for those who expected a lot of laughs, you can definitely see why they were let down. A handful of films have fallen victim to this mis-advertising... such as Shallow Hal, The Cable Guy and The Banger Sisters, movies promised in previews to to riotously funny, but actually turning out to have more serious themes. It seems Hollywood would be smarter, after so many years of experience, than to pull the old bait-and-switch scheme on the movie-going public.
Rating: 
Summary: Don't be lured in by the cast!
Review: This is the first movie review I have ever written, and my inspiration lies in the fact that I do not wish anybody the pain and suffering of enduring such a movie. I have watched more movies in my lifetime than most of the people I know, and can say that this is just about the worst film (excluding Mean Guns with Ice T) I have watched. I am very careful with my choice of movies, investigatin most of the time prior to watching one. I was deceived by the casting, and promised myself never to make the same mistake again. The plot is just about as eclectic as it can get. It is not really clear what the director is trying to say with this film, and he just jumps from one scene to another showing no organization. The movie is a bumpy ride, not worth watching. And what is up with the scenes of the dishes in the fancy restaurant? They seem completely out of place and forced, as if trying to imitate some of Hitchcock's closeups on objects. Please don't waste your time on this movie.
Rating:
Summary: Decadent...and not in a good way.
Review: Imagine spending over an hour and a half in the company of people who have no redeeming qualities whatsoever.
Would you choose to do that?
James Ivory, the Director that brought us the wit and charm of "A Room With a View" and the powerful drama of "The Remains of The Day" now brings us the vacuous and self indulgent characters of "Le Divorce".
I have never been more bored with any motion picture in my life.
Rating: 
Summary: a review from a fan of cinema and the french
Review: It always kills me how people can view movies so one mindedly. Holding this film up to other Merchant Ivory pictures is inconceivable. Firstly, movies like "Room with a View" or "The Remains of the Day" are masterpieces, rich with beautiful scenes, witty reparte, and conventions of their times and places. "Le Divorce", in many aspects, is not much different on these planes. Yes, it is a flawed movie, with some holes, but mostly it is a very subtle movie. I've read some reviews on this site attacking the views on Americans in this film... okkkk... may I just remind everyone that this is a film SET IN FRANCE about the cultural differences between the French and Americans. In some scenes it might be overplayed some what, but I am willing to bet most of that was done to emphasize the point for typical lazy American audiences. Okay, I am American, I love my country and the people in it, but come on, most American movie audiences go to a movie to be entertained, especially a movie featuring Kate Hudson that sports a poster of her smiling innocently next to an equally blonde beauty, Naomi Watts. This movie is not to entertain, and it's charm is in the subtle details. Example; Isabel's smile and nod routine to her neice's ballet teacher because she doesn't know French, or when Edgar makes his comment about deciding if she will become his misteress and she looks around to make sure no one is listening in. This is a movie that is supposed to be about an American coming to Paris, who, like most Americans, is stunted culturally (as in worldly) and starts to change her personality and become more sophisticated as a result of this different culture she comes into contact with. Also, may I just mention that Roxy and Olivia Pace are expatriates, not ex-patriots. There is a huge difference, which I will assume, perhaps wrongly, you can figure out on your own. Overall, I think this movie has a lot of merit, but I also think it must be approached by an impartial audience looking for a movie that is smart and witty that you will perhaps have to think about for awhile. This isn't "A Room with a View", how could it be, but on it's own this movie is an interesting look at what happens when two very different cultures come together to work through a problem.
Rating:
Summary: "Le Divorce" a sad glimpse of what could have been...
Review: Movie trailers can be deceiving. Take, for example, Le Divorce: at first glance, I expected it to be the cinematic equivalent of a cappuccino-a light, frothy, European indulgence. Alas. What could have been a charming, lighthearted comedy of manners turned out to be heavy-handed, overly melodramatic, and disjointed. I had truly wanted to like Le Divorce for its all-star cast (Kate Hudson, Glenn Close, Matthew Modine, Sam Waterston, Romain Duris (L'auberge espagnole) and setting (the ever-charming Paris), and despite my best efforts to like the film, it left me frustrated at what it could have been if handled differently. The film, based on the novel by Diane Johnson, follows the story of two Californian sisters, Roxeanne and Isabel Walker. Roxeanne, married to Frenchman Charles-Henri de Persand, is pregnant with her second child when her two-timing husband walks out on her. Isabel flies to Paris to support her sister in her hour of need and ends up becoming mistress to a member of de Persand's family. Matters are complicated when the husband of de Persand's new love interest Madga begins stalking Roxeanne and her family. Also thrown into the mix is the fate of a multimillion-dollar painting that belongs to the Walkers. Both the novel and the movie are supposed to be a comedy of manners about the French and American cultural differences regarding marriage, divorce, sex and extramarital affairs, but if there's comedy buried somewhere in this film, I didn't find it. The biggest flaw in my opinion was the lack of a sense of time. The earliest example is when Isabel helps American writer Olivia Pace (Glenn Close) organize her papers, and is introduced to the charming Yves. In the *next frame*, Isabel and Yves are in bed together. Hello? Isabel doesn't seem to be the trashy impulsive type. Not to mention that after the death of a main character, the *next scene * has everyone behaving cheerfully as if nothing had ever occured. The ending quite obviously has jumped ahead in time, but the question is how much? The film is bogged down with unnecessary subplots, too large a cast, and morbid overtones, including adultery, murder and suicide. The actors all put in fine performances, but that and the beautiful Parisian scenery isn't enough to save this overly clunky romantic "comedy."
Rating:
Summary: Unfocused
Review: The film didn't know whether it wanted to be a soap-opera drama (e.g., "Fatal Attraction"), a broad comedy poking fun at cultural stereotypes (e.g., "A Fish Called Wanda") or a celebration of Paris (e.g., "Amelie"). Instead it was a boring, mishmash, mismatched waste of fine acting and wonderful scenery.
Rating:
Summary: How to spend millions in a really bad movie
Review: I'm not american and i don't know how difficult could be the relations between USA and France, but what I know is: This is the worst picture I ever saw!!!
It's a shame to watch excelent actors work on a project with no sense. Maybe the book is good but the movie is stupid. I like romantic movies but this movie sucks. Excuse, I'm angry >(
Rating:
Summary: Le Boring
Review: I won't speak for the book because I haven't read it, and I'm not French. If I was French, however, I imagine that I might feel insulted. The movie seems to scream at the viewer that the French are evil, gauche, and utterly frivolous, while Americans are victims, innocent and pure. While neither can be the case, it is ridiculous to taut such views. The characters in the movie as well as their interactions, comings and goings make no sense. No one has a reason for doing what they do or going where they go. Kate Hudson's character falls in love with two men that she barely knows and is in no way a support to her sister whose French husband mysteriously runs off with a Russian woman. The evil French husband then does all he can to be utterly unfair to poor Roxy (his wife). He wants to take her children, her family's painting, ie everything he can for reasons that the movie does not go into. What bothers me more than ridiculous people doing ridiculous things for ridiculous reasons is when movie writers have cardboard cutout people do ridiculous things for reasons that are kept hidden from us. From the scene where Kate Hudson gets a strange haircut for seemingly no reason, I simply lost interest in the story. Also, the writers were trying to elicit emotions where their wasn't sufficient development for there to be any. Examples were the murder of the cheating husband and his girlfriend, the selling of the painting, the suicide of Roxy, the mad gun battle on the Eiffel Tower, etc. Need I go on? Save your time and your money.
Rating:
Summary: Pleasant but not spectacular
Review: I am a fan of Kate Hudson and Naomi Watts. And, since I saw the brilliant films they produced in the 80s such as "Room with a View", "Maurice" and "Howard's End", I am also a fan of Merchant/Ivory as a writing and producing team. This film is not a bad film, but it moves along too slowly and didn't have me completely entralled like their earlier films The story centers around two sisters, one (played by Hudson), who goes to Paris to be with her pregnant sister (played by Watts). As she arrives, her sister's husband, an unfaithful scoundrel is literally walking out of her life. To further complicate things, Hudson's character becomes involved with her brother-in-law's uncle, a handsome and charming 50 something French man, who has worked his way through a long a line of young ladies like Hudson, an addiction he can't seem to break. There are lots of interesting people in this film such as Glenn Close, Stockard Channing and Sam Waterson but they are not given much to do. And I have to admit, the character, Magda, drove me NUTS. She wasn't in the film that much but every time it showed her, her voice and manner drove me out of my mind! She was completely annoying! If you want a really good Merchant/Ivory film pick one of the three I mentioned earlier (or perhaps, Remains of the Day). Want a good Naomi Watts film...I recommend "The Ring". This film I only recommend marginally. I hope Merchant/Ivory hits their stride again and really gives their fans something to rave about!
|
