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Le Divorce
Fox // PG-13 // January 27, 2004
List Price: $27.98 [Buy now and save at Amazon]
THE MOVIE
I seem to be befuddled lately at what constitutes a "comedy" when it comes to a motion picture. About a week ago I reviewed a DVD title that was clearly a drama but advertised as a comedy on the box cover, and with Le Divorce I find once again a movie advertised as a comedy that sure looked like a drama to me. Then again, I've never been a big fan of Merchant-Ivory films (although I loved Remains of the Day) and didn't even realize this was one of them until I saw the opening credits of the film.
The movie stars Naomi Watts and Kate Hudson as a pair of sisters, one whose marriage is falling apart and the other who is looking to find romance without all the trappings of a marriage. As the movie opens, Isabel (Hudson) is on her way to Paris to visit her sister, Roxy (Watts). But when she arrives she finds out that Roxy's husband (played by Melvil Poupaud) has left her for another woman. Not to mention the fact that Roxy happens to be expecting.
While comforting her sister, Isabel finds herself drawn to an older politician – who just happens to be the uncle of Roxy's husband. She is so taken with him that she agrees to become his mistress – something that is far less taboo in French culture than it is here in America.
There's also a number (perhaps a few too many) of subplots going on – one about a painting that Roxy's family owns that may be worth a great deal of money; and another about the crazed husband (played by Matthew Modine) of the girl that Roxy's husband is now seeing.
If all this is intended to be comedy, it missed its mark with me. Most of the film is lighthearted – but there are some surprisingly dark moments that seem out of place in such a movie. The film is also loaded with great actors, including Glenn Close, Sam Waterston, Bebe Neuwirth and Stockard Channing – but none of these actors are given much material to work with, nor do they have a lot of screen time.
THE DVD
Video:
The DVD is two-sided, with the 1.33:1 Full Frame version on Side A, and the 2.40:1 anamoprhic widescreen version on Side B. The picture is nicely transferred, although slightly soft, with only the slightest notice here and there of any dirt or grain. Overall, pretty good for a release of this type.
Audio:
The audio is presented in 5.1 Dolby, and sounds very good, although this isn't exactly the kind of film where the audio is quite noticeable – given the dialogue-heavy design of the storyline. Viewers will also have the option of listening to a Spanish or French 2.0 track if they wish.
Extras:
Unless you count the chapter selection or the fact that you can watch the movie in both full-frame and widescreen, there are no extras whatsoever on this DVD.
THE BOTTOM LINE
Given all who were involved with this picture, I'm kind of shocked it turned out as poorly as it did. It's not a horrible film – it's just rather bland. If you're a huge Hudson or Watts fan, you may want to rent it…but for the rest, I recommend passing this one by.
I seem to be befuddled lately at what constitutes a "comedy" when it comes to a motion picture. About a week ago I reviewed a DVD title that was clearly a drama but advertised as a comedy on the box cover, and with Le Divorce I find once again a movie advertised as a comedy that sure looked like a drama to me. Then again, I've never been a big fan of Merchant-Ivory films (although I loved Remains of the Day) and didn't even realize this was one of them until I saw the opening credits of the film.
The movie stars Naomi Watts and Kate Hudson as a pair of sisters, one whose marriage is falling apart and the other who is looking to find romance without all the trappings of a marriage. As the movie opens, Isabel (Hudson) is on her way to Paris to visit her sister, Roxy (Watts). But when she arrives she finds out that Roxy's husband (played by Melvil Poupaud) has left her for another woman. Not to mention the fact that Roxy happens to be expecting.
While comforting her sister, Isabel finds herself drawn to an older politician – who just happens to be the uncle of Roxy's husband. She is so taken with him that she agrees to become his mistress – something that is far less taboo in French culture than it is here in America.
There's also a number (perhaps a few too many) of subplots going on – one about a painting that Roxy's family owns that may be worth a great deal of money; and another about the crazed husband (played by Matthew Modine) of the girl that Roxy's husband is now seeing.
If all this is intended to be comedy, it missed its mark with me. Most of the film is lighthearted – but there are some surprisingly dark moments that seem out of place in such a movie. The film is also loaded with great actors, including Glenn Close, Sam Waterston, Bebe Neuwirth and Stockard Channing – but none of these actors are given much material to work with, nor do they have a lot of screen time.
THE DVD
Video:
The DVD is two-sided, with the 1.33:1 Full Frame version on Side A, and the 2.40:1 anamoprhic widescreen version on Side B. The picture is nicely transferred, although slightly soft, with only the slightest notice here and there of any dirt or grain. Overall, pretty good for a release of this type.
Audio:
The audio is presented in 5.1 Dolby, and sounds very good, although this isn't exactly the kind of film where the audio is quite noticeable – given the dialogue-heavy design of the storyline. Viewers will also have the option of listening to a Spanish or French 2.0 track if they wish.
Extras:
Unless you count the chapter selection or the fact that you can watch the movie in both full-frame and widescreen, there are no extras whatsoever on this DVD.
THE BOTTOM LINE
Given all who were involved with this picture, I'm kind of shocked it turned out as poorly as it did. It's not a horrible film – it's just rather bland. If you're a huge Hudson or Watts fan, you may want to rent it…but for the rest, I recommend passing this one by.
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