Review of Bed and Board (1970) by Jessica W — 10 Nov 2008

Good, but not great. Pleasant, but not jubilant. Clever, but not brilliant. Amusing, but not hilarious.

Much like Antoine, this movie is basically a little bit of everything. He is sometimes intelligent, sometimes foolish, sometimes stupid, sometimes rude, sometimes angry, sometimes happy... He's almost too much of an ordinary man, in that there is nothing to make him exceptionally interesting or appealing. I suppose there is some joy in his character here, if you've followed the character through previous films. But for me, having seen none, I see a mildly charming, otherwise dull and ordinary guy who somehow makes a few mistakes in an otherwise pleasant life.

Did I enjoy the film? While I was watching it, I wasn't sure. There's no drama, no loud spark or high tension or significantly moving emotion to sweep you up and captivate you. It's pretty much like watching a quiet sitcom drama, pleasant while it's on, but irrelevant to the greater scheme of your life. It never gets too heavy to be upsetting or affective as an emotional story, and seems to meander in 'subtly sweet' territory for a bit too long. We see that Antoine has problems, but only because he creates them. And we see his wife overreact, as if she needs to create the conflict in the story. Otherwise, there really would be almost no plot, almost no major story and almost no character development - what short arc they do take and cross over, that is.

This is a comfortable, ordinary little film that doesn't try too hard to really do anything aside from calmly entertain. And while it did make me smile a few times, I've been happier, and laughed harder in several other movies. I've seen more alive characters, met lead men with far more edge and personality, and see leading ladies that were more alluring and more exciting. The actors do a fine job with what they're given - but it's not a whole lot to work with, and the movie never lifts too far off the ground.

I rate this movie: Good enough to watch, but forgettable.