Review of Gabrielle

Introduction

Jean and Gabrielle Hervey (Pascal Greggory and Isabelle Huppert) are happy in a loveless marriage, which allows them to socialise and appear to be a happy bourgeois couple with a huge circle of friends. At one dinner party, during a conversation about intimate secrets, Gabrielle illustrates the point by stating that "Jean`s acquaintance alone is enough for me" with the emphasis on `connaître` (to know, be acquainted with), rather than `aimer` (to love). In narration, Jean explains that "We have no intimacy, nor need of any".

One day Jean comes home from work to find an envelope from Gabrielle containing a note announcing that she has left him for another man. Jean is staggered by this news, but her return, only three hours after she had left, is even more devastating as Jean realises that he loved her all along, but this was a feeling not shared by Gabrielle. When she comes back, Gabrielle realises that Jean loves her and confides in the servants, who she realises are aware of much more than she thought and are even able to offer advice.

Although based on `The Return` by Joseph Conrad, the character of the wife has been fleshed out to the point where she is almost more prominent than the husband. In the novella, much of which is told in third-person, focusing on the husband, the wife of Alvan doesn`t even have a name. Adapted by Anne-Louise Trividic and `tweaked` by Patrice Chéreau, the film is faithful to the original story.

Video

A decent transfer, showing both the monochrome and colour scenes with good clarity, but some grain. The switching between monochrome and colour is purely an artistic choice and not one that necessarily reflects characters` moods.

Audio

Both the Dolby Stereo and 5.1 mixes are very good, but the 5.1 has better balance although the surrounds are used sparingly, as this is a dialogue-driven film. For those who don`t speak French, there are English subtitles available, which are very good, but in one scene they briefly get lost against a bright background.

Features

The theatrical trailer is in French, with English subtitles.

There are three deleted/extended scenes, introduced by Patrice Chéreau. They don`t add much to your understanding or enjoyment of the film, but are worth a watch.

Interviews with Patrice Chéreau, Isabelle Huppert and Pascal Greggory - lasting 35 minutes, these are interesting and informative, telling you about the genesis of the project and how it was changed when the actors became involved.

The interview with Patrice Chéreau is in French and English, as he is bilingual, and adds to the other interviews on the disc.

The DVD menus are a real pain, with yellow writing against a bright yellow background, making them very difficult to read.

Conclusion

Perhaps best known for the Oscar nominated and César winning `La Reine Margot`, Patrice Chéreau has again adapted a work by a major literary figure and has teamed up with two of France`s leading actors, both of whom, especially Huppert, give superb performances.

Handsomely directed, with superb costumes and sets, `Gabrielle` is emotionally involving, thoroughly compelling and a fine advertisement for contemporary French cinema.

This DVD has so much against it for a widespread release: it`s a period costume drama, it`s in French and subtitled and both the director and lead actors are relatively unknown outside of France. It`s to the credit of Artificial Eye, then, that they`ve put together such a good package for what is a little-known film aimed at a small market.

If you like character-driven films with strong performances and foreign language movies aren`t an instant turn-off, then `Gabrielle` is definitely one to look out for.