Nelly and Monsieur Arnaud (1995)

the audience applauded

The thing I enjoyed most about the film is the fact that it doesn't shy away from being a super-sized-cliche;

There's no way I can possibly love it entirely but I just think its ridiculously bad, but enjoyable at the same time.

Blistering performances.

Silence, Talk, Silence, Talk and the again Silence, occasional dinners at different restaurants, the daily meeting to edit a book manuscript, routine and the mass of exception that goes along with it and the humans that meet in-between.Nelly & Monsieur is all that and more. It's about humans leading their lives as good as they can, they care for each other but in the end they all live their own quiet desperation. This probably sounds much worse than it is. Through the routine they get close to each other, express tenderness and affection for each other, but the exceptions never seem quite big enough to top what the routine gives.Still Nelly & Monsieur Arnaud is a delightful movie. It's a slice of life drama which isn't quite drama or really slice of life.During the entire movie something builds up, the yearning for a big leap of faith. When Nelly leaves her husband at the beginning of the movie it seems to be nothing much, it's over in about a minute and her husband does not claim much more of the running time. That's how it goes during the entire movie: What should be big changes in Nelly's life are written off as nothing much. In fact what triggers most emotional response from her are the routinely meetings with Monsieur Arnaud, a man perhaps 40 years older than her. In these routinely meetings they edit the book he wants to publish and they talk, they talk about themselves, their lives, their past, but also about the book... clearly something is building up… and this is where I'm going to tell you: "go see the movie to find out!", it's much worth a watch or perhaps some more.The conflict is clearly there, yet the movie never becomes overly dramatic, in fact it's quite restrained and that's what makes it so delightful. We witness all the characters meetings and their talk which is often comic, not in the way that you would loudly laugh, much rather in a way that could make the characters themselves chuckle, and in fact, they do. There's never done too much to drive the point home, that's the slice of life aspect about it. What makes it not so much slice of life is that it's actually about a very special part in both Nelly's and Monsieur Arnaud's life; both of their lives change drastically after their meeting.Nelly & Monsieur Arnaud delivers the atmosphere of all the afternoons when you're doing something rather unexceptional but still have a fine time. This movie will be a delight for people fond of such an atmosphere but even people who might not be especially enthralled by the atmosphere might still find joy in the careful treatment of the theme.If nothing convinced you yet I have to note that the acting of both Emmanuelle Béart (Nelly) and Michel Serrault (Monsieur Arnaud) is absolutely exceptional. Emmanuelle Béart delivers everything with her face, especially with her eyes. Michel Serrault has a stunning presence; he sustains a sense of mystery around his character without ever becoming sentimental.It's 8,5 from me and I deem it a great last movie for any director. Even though he was over 70 when he made it, Sautet still very much had it.

Nelly and Monsieur Arnaud is an exquisite, beautifully written and acted film. The characters are complex and interesting. They are also completely believable. Although the film deals with emotions, the film is never mawkish or maudlin and the characters are never allowed to descend to the level of drama for the sake of drama. I found the story enthralling from beginning to end. I was a bit concerned about the "adult love story" description. But, amazingly in this day and age, this film is free of ugly graphic sex scenes. Michel Serrault gives an excellent performance full of nuance and subtle changes. Emmanuelle Beart is effective and holds her own with Serrault. This is a film not to be missed.

When you gotta go you gotta go and if Claude Sautet had to go he certainly went in style. He gave us some of the finest and most durable films in late 20th century French cinema - Vincent, Francois, Paul et les Autres, En Cour en Hiver and so many more, films we can watch again and again with renewed pleasure and he signed off with a doozy. It is, of course, a cliché that only the French know how to handle the man-woman relationship in all its nuances, unorthodoxy, etc, but one worth repeating. Its all too easy to imagine the clumsiness with which modern English/US directors would have handled the older man/younger woman situation that lies at the heart of this story but I'm ready to bet plenty of twelve-to-seven that none would have brought the delicacy of touch, subtlety that is synonymous with Sautet. When we talk of a 'mood' piece we think of Chekhov and Sautet invokes the Russian master in spinning out of thin air a fragile, gossamer-thin tacit understanding between his two leads. Beart is almost too impossibly beautiful to be true and she needs to be the fine actress she is to get past the handicap of classical features while Serrault is a consummate actor still turning out great performances. A word too about the support, Michele Laroque, a stand-up comedienne in her spare time, brings the same solid support here as she did later in Francis Veber's 'Le Placard'. I can pay this movie no higher compliment than to bracket it with 'Brief Encounter', another masterpiece of unconsummated love that is still enchanting audiences fifty years on, as Nelly and Mr. Arnaud surely will be.

Michel Serrault, of whom I have the highest regard for his great talent, hits yet another home run with this role. He portrays a wealthy widower, who per chance, meets a sweet young woman, many years his junior. Nellie needs a job and Mr. Arnaud needs an editor. The wonderful friendship that these two engage in, is so sweet and affecting; it'll remind even the most independent person that friends are as real and precious as gold. Mr. Serrault's character has a humor drier than sherry. A very good film.