Nathalie... [Blu-ray]

Director: Anne Fontaine Anne Fontaine

Overview

A middle-aged woman fears that her husband is cheating on her -- and chooses a very unlikely method for verifying her paranoia -- in this psychological drama from the writer of Une Liaison Pornographique. Catherine (Fanny Ardant) is a successful Parisian gynecologist whose long-term marriage to Bernard (Gérard Depardieu) has been passionless as of late. When she checks his cell phone messages one afternoon, she discovers a suggestive "thank you" from a young colleague of his, which creates an even wider chasm between the two. Desperate, Catherine goes to an upscale strip club nearby to solicit the services of Nathalie (Emmanuelle Béart), a matter-of-fact prostitute. It seems Catherine wants Nathalie to seduce Bernard and report back to her each week, an assignment that's initially off-putting to the young woman, but one she begins to relish as the weeks pass. Soon, Nathalie is using intimate details to fuel Catherine's rage toward her husband. Nathalie... had its gala North American premiere at the 2003 Toronto Film Festival.

Product Details

Release Date:	07/19/2022
UPC:	0738329259327
Original Release:	2003
Rating:	NR
Source:	Cohen Media Group
Language:	English
Time:	1:45:00
Sales rank:	28,950

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits

Fanny Ardant	Catherine
Emmanuelle Béart	Nathalie / Marlène
Gérard Depardieu	Bernard
Wladimir Yordanoff	François
Judith Magre	La mère de Catherine
Rodolphe Pauly	Le fils
Évelyne Dandry	La patronne du bar
Ari Paffgen	Actor
Aurore Auteuil	Actor
Idit Cebula	Actor
Sacha Rukavina	Actor
Macha Polikarpova	Actor
Marie Adam	Actor
Sophie Seferiades	Actor
Serge Onteniente-Boutleroff	Actor
Marinette Levy	Actor
Ida Techer	Actor
Sasha Rucavina	Marianne
Serge Onteniente	L'agent immobilier
Caroline Frank	Amie de Marlène
Angélique Thomas	Hôtesse du bar
Prudence Maïdou	Hôtesse du bar
Marc Rioufol	Homme couple de clients
Pierre Manganelli	Un client de Marlène
Thelma Gudmunds	Guest
Vladimir Yordanoff	Actor
Michael Nyman	Composer

Technical Credits

Anne Fontaine

Jacques Fieschi

Richard Rousseau

Philippe Blasband

Anne Fontaine	Director,Screenwriter
Jacques Fieschi	Screenwriter
Alain Sarde	Producer,Executive Producer
Christine Gozlan	Executive Producer,Producer
Richard Rousseau	Casting,Screenwriter,Screenwriter
Philippe Blasband	Screenwriter
Odile Beraud	Special Effects
Pascal Chauvin	Sound Effects
Eric Ferret	Sound Effects,Sound/Sound Designer
Eric Grattepain	Sound Effects
Jean-Claude Laureux	Sound/Sound Designer
Jean-Pierre Laforce	Sound/Sound Designer

Editorial Reviews

Awash in juicy, erotic melodrama but bearing one all-too-obvious plot twist, Anne Fontaine's psychological drama nonetheless provides a glimpse of two generations of French actresses at the top of their game. To think of Nathalie... as 8 Women divided by four would be somewhat misleading: Though it stars two of the duplicitous principals from François Ozon's campy 2002 mystery, the tone of this pairing is deathly serious, which makes the script's erotic element all the more believable, but makes its so-what conclusion even more apparent. Writer Philippe Blasband keeps his plot as simple as that of his breakthrough feature, the teasing, enigmatic Une Liason Pornographique, but the questions left unanswered in that film are mostly spelled out here; and although the dynamic between Fanny Ardant and Emmanuelle Béart is never less than fascinating, it does grow repetitive and increasingly less mysterious as Nathalie... progresses. It's rare that a film can generate carnal heat solely through its dialogue, and Ardant and Béart are more than up to the challenge of performing it -- but a breather or two of humor would've gone a long way in making Fontaine's film more believable.

All Movie Guide - Michael Hastings