New Girlfriend (The)
Original Title
Une Nouvelle Amie- Director: François Ozon
- Writer: François Ozon; Ruth Rendell
- Producer: Eric Altmayer; Nicolas Altmayer
CGiii Comment
What was that?!? A psycho-sexual catastrophe.
Ozon's most indefinable films to date and an all-time career low. Really, this is scraping the barrel's bottom.
3 main problems: (1) the source material, a 1985 short story by Ruth Rendell (?!), (2) Romain Duris, miscast and horrific, and (3) Ozon's screaming inconsistencies.
It starts off like any old tearjerker...the untimely death of a mother, daughter, wife and best friend [with a handsome husband] (cue: lesbian subtext).
Major leap - in every conceivable department...the bereaved husband dresses as his dead wife and nurses the baby. In walks the best friend (with lesbian tendencies [and a handsome]) and all hell is let loose...
Duris' Virginia is a leering, ugly demon with the fashion sense of a hairy-faced, over-the-hill, heel-less hooker...the tragedy fast becomes an unfunny comedy...and then more hell is wrought upon us in the guise of a fraught psycho-sexual drama...as Virginia and the best friend with with lesbian tendencies [and a handsome husband] fast approach a torrid love affair...really, you wouldn't want to make this up!
Enough...the final act is a primordial monster...Frankenstein: eat your heart out. Cue: communal groan at the travesty on show.
On a more positive note: the soundtrack is toe-tappingly good!
Trailer...
The(ir) Blurb...
A young woman makes a surprising discovery about the husband of her late best friend.
Cast & Characters
Romain Duris as David / Virginia;
Anais Demoustier as Claire;
Raphael Personnaz as Gilles;
Isild Le Besco as Laura;
Aurore Clement as Liz, la mere de Laura;
Jean-Claude Bolle-Reddat as Robert, le pere de Laura;
Bruno Perard as Eva Carlton;
Claudine Chatel as La nounou;
Anita Gillier as Infirmiere;
Alex Fondja as Aide-soignant