Le divorce (2003)

User Rating:

4.9/10   

Director:

James Ivory

Writers (WGA):

Diane Johnson (novel)
Ruth Prawer Jhabvala (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

29 August 2003 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Romance | Comedy

Tagline:

Everything sounds sexier in French.

Plot:

French vs. American social customs and behaviors are observed in a story about an American visiting her Frenchman-wed sister in Paris. |

Plot Keywords:

Auction | Painting | Chick Flick | Purse | Family Relationships

Awards:

2 wins

Cast

Kate Hudson	...	Isabel Walker
Jean-Marie Lhomme	...	Immigration Officer
Naomi Watts	...	Roxeanne de Persand
Esmée Buchet-Deàk	...	Gennie de Persand
Jean-Jacques Pivert	...	Talkative Shopkeeper
Melvil Poupaud	...	Charles-Henri de Persand
Catherine Samie	...	Madame Florian
Samuel Labarthe	...	Antoine de Persand
Leslie Caron	...	Suzanne de Persand
Thierry Lhermitte	...	Edgar Cosset
Nathalie Richard	...	Charlotte de Persand
Samuel Gruen	...	de Persand Child
Peter Wyckoff	...	de Persand Child
Sandrel Lonnoy	...	Maid
Glenn Close	...	Olivia Pace

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for mature thematic elements and sexual content.

Runtime:

USA:117 min

Country:

France | USA

Language:

English | French

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Iceland:LH | Malaysia:(Banned) | South Korea:15 | Argentina:13 | Australia:M | Brazil:12 | Canada:PG | Chile:14 | Finland:K-11 | Germany:12 (bw) | Mexico:B | Netherlands:MG6 | Singapore:PG | Spain:13 | Sweden:7 | Switzerland:12 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:12 (canton of Vaud) | UK:12A | USA:PG-13

Filming Locations:

Café de Flore - 172 boulevard Saint-Germain, Paris 6, Paris, France

Company:

Merchant Ivory Productions

Trivia:

When Isabel is setting up chairs at the poetry reading and is confronted by Tellman, there are copies of "Le Divorce" on the bookshelf behind them.

Goofs:

Continuity: When Isabel and Roxy are walking towards the la Flore to meet Roxy's husband, Isabel's scarf is hanging from her pocket. When they walk into la Flore she is wearing it around her neck.

Quotes:

Roxy: You shouldn't accept expensive gifts from a man.
Isabel: Why?
Roxy: Because it puts you in a position of having to do what he wants.
Isabel: I'd do it anyway.

Movie Connections:

References Le ballon rouge (1956)

Soundtrack:

La Belle et le Bête

Not THAT Bad!

The performances are terrific, Kate Hudson proves that she is the actress that Goldie Hawn never was, and it is always good to see Leslie Caron looking her age and looking great. Now, the matter of the plot has been raised and the consensus so far is that it is a bag of clichés dumped into a blender and then poured out on film.

True. But, the book was no great shakes either and the screenplay simply has not risen above its origins.

I enjoyed Le Divorce for its cynicism and its predictability, frankly. It is nice every now and then to see a movie that elicits a sour chuckle rather than a guffaw or a shriek, and this is one of them.