I have read devastating reviews of the film, but as a Catherine Deneuve fan, of course I had to see it. Though I have to admit I can understand most of the critics' reservations concerning the script, I think the overall bashing of the movie was somewhat exaggerated.
As for the writing, it's true, in the first half of the film the scenes piled one on top of the other are way too loosely connected, so while the writers might have meant them to show Fannette's background, the faces popping up here and there form quite an amorphous mess and apart from us seeing them, they don't add much to the actual story. (As for her brother's appearance, it took me almost the whole scene to figure out the man was the brother, and even then I wasn't completely sure.) In addition, the daydreaming, hallucinating scenes about Philippe are sometimes long and tiresome. Though Deneuve is gorgeous and her acting is flawless, in this first part I felt a bit confused about what the creators were trying to get at.
BUT: when Fannette arrives in New York, it's as if we, too entered a completely different universe. Their duo with William Hurt works brilliantly on the screen, their conversations are witty and funny and even wittier and funnier the way they act them; the two of them together suddenly become interesting and within a moment you get involved in the story, forgetting about Philippe and the strenuous blurry images of the first half (as is, most probably, the case with Fannette, too:)). The pace gets more lively, and watching the film more enjoyable. Here the conversations are excellent, they are the real heart of the story and beautifully mirror the development of the relationship between the two people. Both actors are very convincing and do excellently in their roles, making the most of the opportunities the dialogues offer them - Deneuve is beautiful as the nonsensical woman who seemingly doesn't care, and Hurt is a heartthrob as the confident admirer of Fannette.
I simply loved the end, even though I'd have enjoyed just a bit more conventional ending this time. All in all, it's an enjoyable film with a bit confused first half and a funny, sensitive, romantic second one. On top of that, there are some scenes which are little gems in themselves (the cinema or the kimono scene), and I think the writers managed to create (and Deneuve and Hurt to act wonderfully) one of the most creative and sensual erotic scenes in movie history (the bar scene). To that I'd give 20 out of 10 :). The movie is 7/10.
As for the writing, it's true, in the first half of the film the scenes piled one on top of the other are way too loosely connected, so while the writers might have meant them to show Fannette's background, the faces popping up here and there form quite an amorphous mess and apart from us seeing them, they don't add much to the actual story. (As for her brother's appearance, it took me almost the whole scene to figure out the man was the brother, and even then I wasn't completely sure.) In addition, the daydreaming, hallucinating scenes about Philippe are sometimes long and tiresome. Though Deneuve is gorgeous and her acting is flawless, in this first part I felt a bit confused about what the creators were trying to get at.
BUT: when Fannette arrives in New York, it's as if we, too entered a completely different universe. Their duo with William Hurt works brilliantly on the screen, their conversations are witty and funny and even wittier and funnier the way they act them; the two of them together suddenly become interesting and within a moment you get involved in the story, forgetting about Philippe and the strenuous blurry images of the first half (as is, most probably, the case with Fannette, too:)). The pace gets more lively, and watching the film more enjoyable. Here the conversations are excellent, they are the real heart of the story and beautifully mirror the development of the relationship between the two people. Both actors are very convincing and do excellently in their roles, making the most of the opportunities the dialogues offer them - Deneuve is beautiful as the nonsensical woman who seemingly doesn't care, and Hurt is a heartthrob as the confident admirer of Fannette.
I simply loved the end, even though I'd have enjoyed just a bit more conventional ending this time. All in all, it's an enjoyable film with a bit confused first half and a funny, sensitive, romantic second one. On top of that, there are some scenes which are little gems in themselves (the cinema or the kimono scene), and I think the writers managed to create (and Deneuve and Hurt to act wonderfully) one of the most creative and sensual erotic scenes in movie history (the bar scene). To that I'd give 20 out of 10 :). The movie is 7/10.