Film Festival 09- Cheri
Chéri
UK/France/Germany 2009, 100m
Director: Stephen Frears
Festivals: Berlin 2009
Love and cynicism duel for the lives of a grand courtesan (Michelle
Pfeiffer) and her pampered young lover (Mrs Palfrey's Rupert
Friend) in this sumptuous adaptation of Colette. Frears' deft
management of his constantly parading and bantering characters
cheerfully overrides the incongruity of so many Englis-speaking
actors purporting to be French, but he never evades the toughness
at the heart of his Belle Epoque drama of love for sale. "Michelle
Pfeiffer has made this film her own &Between them, Pfeiffer and
director Stephen Frears have created a riveting portrait of a woman
on the run from age and time. The film's intense two-handed
structure may not have the narrative richness of their first
collaboration, Dangerous Liaisons, but it easily stands comparison
with that 21-year-old masterpiece& [The cinematography] evokes
both the impressionists and the Pre-Raphaelites in every stunning,
jewel-like shot" - Lisa Mullen, Sight & Sound.
www.cherithemovie.co.uk
