The problem is Charles Finch times 3 (he directs, writes and acts the lead). His screen presence is smaller (by several orders of magnitude) than that of Sandrine Bonnaire; when both are on screen we simply don't notice Finch. The script is assembled from dreary clichés; future lovers meet cute, Frenchwomen are crazy about clothes and hats, Italian men want to fatten their women with pasta and expect them to pop child after child, etc. At times, clichés take over completely, such as in every line poor James Fox has been saddled with. The same happens with Jane March, who is also totally miscast.
Another sore point in the script: clearly, Finch sees his character as a sort of Nietzschean Übermensch who is not bound by the morality rules that lesser people try to mind. He is not the kind of actor that can pull this off.
Now for the positives. Bonnaire shows her usual charisma and screen presence and does the best she can with cliché lines. Finch's direction rises above his acting and writing abilities; the story moves forward at a steady pace. However, his obsession with himself does serious damage to the movie; we are shown time and again how he "fights his demons" by running in place at his apartment (at terrific virtual speed) and punching into air, and we see him at least twice race in his jammies after his beloved through beautiful (and, of course wet) Parisian streets. Inexplicably, we are shown many times a shot of one of Paris' Egyptian pyramids. Does it mean anything?
Eight minutes into the movie Julian Sands walks into the set, delivers a few lines and is seen/heard no more. Obviously, he should have been hired as the lead on the spot.
Another sore point in the script: clearly, Finch sees his character as a sort of Nietzschean Übermensch who is not bound by the morality rules that lesser people try to mind. He is not the kind of actor that can pull this off.
Now for the positives. Bonnaire shows her usual charisma and screen presence and does the best she can with cliché lines. Finch's direction rises above his acting and writing abilities; the story moves forward at a steady pace. However, his obsession with himself does serious damage to the movie; we are shown time and again how he "fights his demons" by running in place at his apartment (at terrific virtual speed) and punching into air, and we see him at least twice race in his jammies after his beloved through beautiful (and, of course wet) Parisian streets. Inexplicably, we are shown many times a shot of one of Paris' Egyptian pyramids. Does it mean anything?
Eight minutes into the movie Julian Sands walks into the set, delivers a few lines and is seen/heard no more. Obviously, he should have been hired as the lead on the spot.