Went to the movies yesterday afternoon with Solly.
We ended up seeing, after some consideration of Bowling For Columbine, 8 Women.
It's a very French film about a man named Marcel who is found dead in bed in a snow-bound house, and the eight women of the household who each have a reason for finding him dead...
There's
- his wife, Gaby, who's going to leave him; (Catherine Deneuve)
- her shrewish sister, Augustine, (Isabelle Huppert)
- their mother, Mamy; (Danielle Darrieux)
- Pierrette, Marcel's sister; (Fanny Ardant)
- Suzon and (Virginie Ledoyen)
- Catherine, Gaby's daughters; (Ludivine Sagnier)
- Louise, the chambermaid, (Emmanuelle Beart)
- and Chanel, the cook. (Firmine Richard)
As the film (adapted from a play) unfolds, the various characters (who all dislike each other to varying degrees) all probe and poke each other; family secrets come tumbling out; and everyone thinks that everyone else did it. It's a lot of fun to watch 8 of France's greatest actresses get their claws into each other; even though the plot sounds rather soapy, that's not really the point. This is a frothy, fun, funny piece of a film.
It is also a design-driven film -- from the costuming, to the set design, all the way through to the cinematography.
Oh yeah, and it's a musical too.
I say check it out.
