Eric Rohmer is a very well respected director and my hating many of his films flies is not typical of many of the reviewers here on IMDb. You might wonder why I keep watching his films and it's because sometimes I have enjoyed them--such as with "Autumn Tale". But too often I find his films extremely talky and slow...too slow.
This story is about a pretentious and morally superior man named Adrien. He is the sort of guy who THINKS he's somehow better and more intelligent than most, but in this film he just seems like a jerk. This jerk goes to stay at some summer home along with his friend, Daniel. Daniel is a sullen and grouchy jerk and perhaps even more difficult to like than Adrien. Into this joyous household comes a free-spirited and VERY sexually liberated young lady, Haydée. Daniel and Adrien immediately look down on her because of her blasé attitude about sex but soon it becomes clear that the two men would be more than willing to score with her. Adrien takes the approach of a guy who is indifferent to her and he seems to spend most of the film convincing himself he does NOT want Haydée. By the end of the film will Adrien and Haydée 'hook up'?
The idea of a pseudo-intellectual snob who feigns indifference towards a sexually adventurous lady isn't the most exciting thing but it could have been much more interesting. First, injecting the movie with ENERGY would have sure helped. Instead, this movie is almost glacially slow and dull. Second, making the characters likable in some way would have increased the audience's connection with the film. I hated Adrien and Daniel in particular. Third, the movie should not have been done mostly with voice-overs by Adrien. Allowing the characters to talk and allowing everything to unfold without narration would have made it more interesting and less pretentious. Overall, I guess this is another one of Rohmer's stories that I just don't get.
This story is about a pretentious and morally superior man named Adrien. He is the sort of guy who THINKS he's somehow better and more intelligent than most, but in this film he just seems like a jerk. This jerk goes to stay at some summer home along with his friend, Daniel. Daniel is a sullen and grouchy jerk and perhaps even more difficult to like than Adrien. Into this joyous household comes a free-spirited and VERY sexually liberated young lady, Haydée. Daniel and Adrien immediately look down on her because of her blasé attitude about sex but soon it becomes clear that the two men would be more than willing to score with her. Adrien takes the approach of a guy who is indifferent to her and he seems to spend most of the film convincing himself he does NOT want Haydée. By the end of the film will Adrien and Haydée 'hook up'?
The idea of a pseudo-intellectual snob who feigns indifference towards a sexually adventurous lady isn't the most exciting thing but it could have been much more interesting. First, injecting the movie with ENERGY would have sure helped. Instead, this movie is almost glacially slow and dull. Second, making the characters likable in some way would have increased the audience's connection with the film. I hated Adrien and Daniel in particular. Third, the movie should not have been done mostly with voice-overs by Adrien. Allowing the characters to talk and allowing everything to unfold without narration would have made it more interesting and less pretentious. Overall, I guess this is another one of Rohmer's stories that I just don't get.