"Anaïs in Love" -- Movie Review

 

On the opening weekend of Lincoln Center’s French Film Festival, I attended a screening of the romantic drama “Anaïs in Love” (AKA “Les Amours d'Anaïs”)

Synopsis

When a young woman leaves her husband to be on her own, she finds a new lover in an unexpected way – but will this relationship last?

Story

As she nears 30, Anaïs (Anaïs Demoustier) is still somewhat adrift in life.  Having recently left her husband because she felt claustrophobic (both emotionally and physically in their tiny flat), she rents a small apartment where she now lives by herself – unfortunately, she is facing eviction because she’s overdue on the rent.  In her graduate studies, she’s working on a thesis about 17th century literature – and she’s late with that, as well.  Life is a swirling vortex for her – and she seems quite pleased about the situation.  The only negative touching her life right now is that fact that her mother’s cancer has unexpectedly resurfaced.

Attending a friend’s party, Anaïs meets Daniel (Denis Podalydès), a man old enough to be her father.  They strike up a chat and she discovers he left his first wife after a dozen years for a woman who he’s also been with for the same amount of time.  His current wife, Emilie (Valeria Bruni-Tedeschi), is a successful author – and a woman more age-appropriate for him.  Nevertheless, he and Anaïs embark on an attempt at having an affair; although things don’t exactly work out the way either expected, she winds up learning more about Emilie and becomes increasingly fascinated by her. Anaïs’ mission now is to finally meet this woman.  

Anaïs attends a symposium where Emilie is speaking.  She quickly befriends this woman without letting her know about her trysts with Daniel.  Over time, they exchange a great deal of personal information with each other and it soon becomes clear that they are developing a deeper and more meaningful relationship.  When the two finally get some time to be alone, this relationship quickly becomes physical.  Suddenly, Daniel turns up and immediately becomes suspicious – not to mention upset that Anaïs may be trying to blackmail him.  Will Anaïs and Emilie be able to continue their affair or will Emilie return to Daniel?  

Review

There’s a tonal change in “Anaïs in Love”, but it happens so organically that you almost don’t even notice until the end.  Anaïs starts out as a carefree young woman who is virtually without responsibility – and mostly shirks the few responsibilities she does have.  But once she develops feelings for Emilie, that all changes – she becomes more grounded, more serious and more mature.  Considering the fact that this is the director’s first feature, it’s rather impressive that she was able to pull off such a feat – it’s something that even more experienced filmmakers have a tough time doing.  

In watching the film, you can’t help but notice that Anaïs is engaging in this relationship with a woman more than 25 years older than she is while her own mother is dying of cancer.  One might wonder if the relationship with Emilie is developing out of a sense of loss or a need for healing in some way; even before her mother is dead, she seems to be trying to replace her with a mature woman.  Is it merely a coincidence?  Perhaps.  But it’s certainly one hell of a coincidence, especially when you consider the fact that Anaïs has only been in relationships with men up until this point.   

After the screening, there was an interview with writer-director Charline Bourgeois-Tacquet.  She said that there was very little in the way of rehearsals, except for one scene which took place on a beach, that had to be carefully choreographed with the Director Of Photography.  Her use of color in the film came from her desire to shoot during the summer (which was also obviously complicated by Covid); Bourgeois-Tacquet chose summer because she wanted to make use of all the natural light outdoors.  Anaïs is frequently seen running; the director equates the speed to the character’s own sense of disorientation – she doesn’t know what she wants and it isn’t until she gets involved in a serious relationship that she finally slows down.