Director: Philippe Claudel
Starring: Daniel Auteuil, Kristin Scott Thomas, Leïla Bekhti, Richard Berry
Running Time: 103 minutes
Certificate: 15
Synopsis: Middle-aged and married neurosurgeon, Paul believes he’s being stalked by a beautiful young woman. After an angry confrontation, he finds himself strangely drawn to her. But soon, things take a darker turn and it looks like Paul might have brought real danger into his home.
Kristen Scott Thomas reunites with writer-turned-director, Philippe Claudel for BEFORE THE WINTER CHILL, a slice of bourgeoisie French domestic drama—with a twist. Scott Thomas plays Lucie, a bored and affluent housewife who spends her time drifting around the sort of residence you see on Grand Designs, throwing middle class dinner parties, gardening and sipping wine. But her perfect life isn’t as perfect as you might think. Her husband Paul (Daniel Auteuil) might be having an affair.
I mean the signs are there. He’s grumpy, irritable and distracted. And then there’s the flowers which start arriving. Paul soon identifies the source—the exotic and mysterious Lou—and although at first he yells and waves his arms madly at her to stay away, soon he’s hanging around street corners looking for her. Men eh? Now, you might think you know where this is heading. A husband bored with his suburban existence, looking for a bit of excitement. Another woman who seems a lot more exciting (all Scott Thomas seems to do is mope around their ridiculously big garden, pruning and clipping). No doubt, you’re just waiting for the bunny in the pot. Well, you’d be wrong.
BEFORE THE WINTER CHILL certainly starts out as one kind of film and you might think you’ve got this domestic drama all mapped out. Paul is clearly in the throes of a midlife crisis. He spends lots of time having these long mournful conversations with best chum Gerard (Richard Berry) about life and time and how it all goes so fast. He forgets what he’s doing in the middle of operations. He stares wistfully at Lou, wondering where it all went wrong and how he ended up an ageing surgeon living in a bloody beautiful house, with oodles of money and with the amazing cheekboned Kristin Scott Thomas (gardening obsession aside). Poor Paul. Poor, poor Paul.
Leïla Bekhti as Lou is under used, although this does add to her mystery. Scott Thomas, Auteuil and Berry are all excellent, yet there’s coldness in the direction and acting. Even the set feels cold, despite the beauty of the couple’s home. It feels empty and isolated, and it’s clearly a prison. Both Lucie and Paul are trapped by their bourgeoisie lives, stuck in the world they’ve built and slipping further into middle age. If this all sounds rather maudlin, that’s because BEFORE THE WINTER CHILL asks those existential questions about the choices we make, as well as exploring dissatisfaction with modern life—that nagging feeling something’s not quite right but you can’t really put your finger on what. It’s all very Talking Heads.
And just when you think you’ve got it all sussed, it goes and sucker punches you. I can’t even give you a clue—it will ruin the surprise. But the twist (and this is a good old-fashioned twist) is a complete ‘woah’ moment. But is this a good thing, I hear you say. Well, sort of. It’ll make you look at what you’ve watched in a very different way. However, this abrupt change comes almost too late, and certainly too near the end. It reminds me a bit of the end of Moby Dick, where you’ve been on this emotional gauntlet for what seems like years and then the ship sinks in half a page.
BEFORE THE WINTER CHILL has its moments. The acting is top notch and it’ll keep you guessing. But some might find the bourgeoisie existential angst a bit much. And once that strange twist comes, you won’t get any resolution – it’ll just leave you feeling unfulfilled and hollow.
[usr=2] BEFORE THE WINTER CHILL is out in cinemas May 30th.
