After wealthy widow Araminte hires young and lusting Dorante, secrets and lies accumulate as Dorante and his accomplice, Araminte’s manservant Dubois (Yves Jacques), manipulate not only the good-hearted Araminte, but also her friend and confidante, Marton (Manon Combes). Dorante, by turns pitiable and proficient, but always deferential to his social better, walks a fine line in his quest to arouse an equal desire in the object of his affections. Bulle Ogier delivers a memorable turn as Araminte’s mother, who suspects the young man’s intentions, but wants to push her daughter into the arms of an aged, hard-up Count (Jean-Pierre Malo). The movie was partly shot during the daytime at the Théâtre de l’Odéon, while the same cast performed the story in a theatrical setting at night.
A film by Luc Bondy
Cast: Isabelle Huppert, Louis Garrel, Bulle Olgier, Yves Jacques
France | 2016 | 82 min | Comedy | Not Rated
French with English subtitles
Screenplay: Luc Bondy, Geoffrey Layton, adapted from Pierre de Marivaux’s Les fusses confidences
Producer(s): Pierre-Olivier Bardet
Cinematography: Luciano Tovoli
Music: Bruno Coulais
2016 Locarno Film Festival: Official selection
“Huppert has the luxury of being backed up by a gifted primary and supporting cast. But if we’re being honest she steals their spotlight, or rather she is the spotlight. With little more than an offhand gesture or a girlish smile, is so proficient in becoming her characters that she almost freshens its material all on her own. Watching Huppert at work is a distinct pleasure…” – Andy Crump, Paste Magazine | full review
“Isabelle Hupper gives a delicately delightful performance as Araminte, supported by equally pleasurable performances by Louis Garrel as the dishonest Daronte.” – Ashy Venkatrajulu, The Knockturnal | full review
“False Confessions, Luc Bondy’s modern interpretation of Marivaux’s 1737 farce, offers two kinds of cultural heritage: Isabelle Huppert portrays Countess Araminte in Bondy’s deconstructed theatrical artifice, and Ella Fitzgerald, in her rendition of Cole Porter’s 1934 “All through the Night,” closes it with private whimsy. These performances are dedicated to a woman’s romantic imagination and demonstrate the psychological power to be found in classical traditions.” – Armond White, National Review | full review
“The originality of Bondy’s take on the material is the fact that it was shot during an actual run of the play at Paris’s iconic Odeon Theater with the same high-voltage cast, including French icons Isabelle Huppert and Bulle Ogier as well as French cinema’s disinterested dandy extraordinaire, Louis Garrel.” – Boyd van Hoeij, The Hollywood Reporter | full review
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