Review of In the Shadow of Women (2015) by Anthony B — 18 Jan 2016
The spare 73-minute French drama In the Shadow of Women, features Manon (Clotilde Courau) and Pierre (Stanislas Merhar), a husband and wife team of documentary filmmakers. The fact it's shot in black and white enables us to focus on the essence of each scene.
It's also a signal we're in film noir, morally ambiguous territory. And indeed we are. Despite their devotion to each other, and no doubt feeling their marriage is strong enough to weather any marital storm, each succumbs to infidelity.
For one the motivation is lust and for the other, the need to be loved. (No prizes for guessing who is what.) The theme of deception also runs through the subplot, the subject of their current documentary, a former Resistance member who claims ignorance of the Vichy government's maltreatment of Jews.
Director Philippe Garrel's final scene is a classic denouement, the film's most moving moment.
This review of In the Shadow of Women (2015) was written by Anthony B on 18 Jan 2016.
In the Shadow of Women has generally received positive reviews.
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