Wednesday, September 16, 2015

The New Girlfriend (Une Nouvelle Amie)






Writer/Director François Ozon’s The New Girlfriend (Une Nouvelle Amie) is one of those stories of bizarre relationships that only the French can tell…and get away with.

It reminds me of Jean-Claude Tacchella’s Cousin Cousine (1975) in which two cousins, who are both married, meet at a wedding and end up going off together leaving the rest of the relatives with c’est la vie shrugs.
 
Here, the more dominant (Isild Le Besco) of two best friends since childhood dies, leaving behind an infant daughter and her husband David (Romain Duris).  Her married friend Claire (Anaïs Demoustier), who has vowed to take care of the child and look after David, discovers David is a cross-dresser and, gradually, accepts his condition as a replacement for her dead friend.  Then, she finds this new friend “Virginia” has lesbian tendencies, as well. 

I won’t give any more details, but will say that the only way this film works for me is because Anaïs Demoustier is incredibly sexy in her very innocent way.  I look forward to seeing her again, as well as Raphaël Personnaz, who plays her husband and has the makings of an international star.

I give The New Girlfriend (Une Nouvelle Amie) a 3.3 out of 5.

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