Film Reviews

Mademoiselle Chambon

• Rating:
• Director: Stéphanie Brizé
• Starring: Sandrine Kimberlain
• Details: France / 101mins (15A).

A moving love story despite the wrongdoings of the would-be lovers, Mademoiselle Chambon is about guilt and responsibility and asks the question: even if we can, should we?
A good father to Jérémy (Arthur Le Houreru) and a loving husband to wife Anne-Marie (Atika), who is off work with a back problem, builder Jean (Lindon) lives a simple life. The last thing Jean expects, though, is to fall over Jérémy's teacher Véronique (Kimberlain), the Mademoiselle Chambon of the title. Given the job of replacing Véronique's draughty windows, the two find themselves alone for the first time and both fight desperately to resist the urge.
The thing about Vincent Lindon, what makes him eternally watchable, is his ordinary bloke status. The lead in the recent Welcome and Anything For Her doesn't look anything remotely like a movie star – he's the classic everyman. So when he's in a situation that some may find morally reprehensible, like leaving a loving wife and son for a total stranger, the audience is willing to delay judgment to see how it plays out. They might not be on board with his decisions but they might understand them. Lindon's Jean isn't making any excuses – he knows what he's doing is wrong – all he's asking is to understand his predicament.
Stéphanie Brizé, who adapted the script from Eric Holder's novel, slowly and steadily builds up the sexual tension, allowing the audience to expect a gushing when the two would-be lovers finally give in to their desires. But the dam doesn't burst – it leaks, a slow trickle. It takes you off guard and for the rest of the film there's no telling how it will turn out. Although it would be in Brizé's remit to succumb to fantasy, she keeps the story rooted in realism.
Fans of David Lean's British romantic classic Brief Encounter, which Mademoiselle Chambon subtly apes, get caught up in the doomed romance and seem to forget about Celia Johnson's and Trevor Howard's respective spouses – they aren't bad people and don't deserve what Johnson and Howard plan to put them through. Brizé doesn't forget – she keeps the fact that Jean is married with children front and centre and foremost in his mind. It stalks his every movement – when he peeks into Véronique's room and sees her napping, it's the thought of his wife and child that stop him making a move.
Completely believable it might be, Mademoiselle Chambon can be guilty of being a little on the dull side from time to time. If two characters fight hard not to do anything, you're essentially watching two characters doing nothing, which doesn't make for exciting viewing.

Review by Gavin Burke