Directed by:
Roman PolańskiCinematography:
Tonino Delli ColliComposer:
VangelisCast:
Hugh Grant, Kristin Scott Thomas, Emmanuelle Seigner, Peter Coyote, Victor Banerjee, Stockard Channing, Patrick Albenque, Geoffrey Carey, Ysé Tran (more)VOD (1)
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Nigel Dobson (Hugh Grant) is an English perfect gentleman, married to equally respectable Fiona (Kristin Scott Thomas). On a cruise heading for India, they meet a highly unconventional couple, American unpublished would-be literary celebrity Oscar, in a wheelchair, and his much younger Parisian wife, Mimi. Oscar insists to tell his unsettling life story to Nigel, who is too polite to refuse although its gore content, shamelessly explicit details and foul Yankee language rather disgust the well-bred Brit, yet becomes also fascinated. Oscar tells how he found by chance in Mimi a willing partner for sex, ever pushing their boundaries. When he tires of spiraling passionate devotion to her, the tables turn: Mimi begs Oscar to stay with her at any price, and gets what she bargained for, sadistic scorn and abuse till she's a mere shadow of her former self, yet is finally abandoned on a flight to Martinique. Later Oscar has a car accident, and Mimi returns to Paris to make sure he is condemned to a wheelchair for life, this time utterly dependent on her, no longer free to choose accepting her abuse, yet they get married. Meanwhile Fiona tires of waiting for Nigel during Oscar's story sessions and spends time with flirtatious Italian Dado. During the New year's Eve party, things come to a surprisingly real and personal closure, not in the least for Nigel. (Arrow Films)
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Reviews (7)
From the very first shot it is devilishly sophisticated and deceiving, and a grandiose depiction of the pure dehumanization of a relationship between two people. All this against the depressing backdrop of a ship or the darkened streets of Paris – your typical neo-noir Polanski of the late eighties/early nineties. It's fascinating how emotionally complex this fresco is and yet it flows with the ease and agility of a racy erotic thriller. One of the director's best films, which you come to like gradually, over time, through a tough skin.
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In Roman Polanski's filmography, this is a relatively lesser-known piece, especially compared to The Fearless Vampire Killers or Rosemary's Baby. However, it's one of his best films - personally, I rank it third after The Pianist and the drama Death and the Maiden. It's a fateful psychological drama of a couple torn apart by sexual passion, jealousy, and mutual dependence, which escalates into hatred. Strong performances and a script that manages to depict the pathology of a love relationship without delving into unnecessary vulgarity. Overall impression: 85%.
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"Have you ever felt real, overpowering passion?!" From the first minute, I felt that, like Nigel, I was being drawn almost against my will into the destructive psychological game of two self-destructive individuals, and I knew that there would be no happy ending. A study that hurts in the deepest places.
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Although Oscar's narrative is the main frame of the entire film, the implications of his relationship with Mimi naturally translate to the present and gradually influence Hugh Grant's character in his actions and endeavors :)) The depiction of Oscar and Mimi's relationship is at times lyrical, charming, idyllic (there is a beautiful juxtaposition of her youthful innocence and naivety with Oscar's "awakening"), at times bizarre (but also funny), and ultimately, of course, escalated (both physically and psychologically). Equally compelling is the setting in which Bitter Moon takes place. All in all, this is a masterpiece, detailing (sometimes perhaps too much:)) the course of a somewhat perverse but all the more interesting relationship, while tying in another (contemporary) storyline, which it fantastically intersects with at the end.
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I have not yet come into contact with Pascal Bruckner's novel of the same name, but it certainly deserves comparison with a film like Bitter Moon. The depths and corners of pathological love relationships are always challenging to process, and to achieve dialogue with the reader or viewer. It is only now that I realize how varied Polanski's work is, and at some point in quieter times, I will return to it contentedly. It is an eternal shame that his name is more of a case than a synonym for his work. Incidentally, the only fault I see here is the casting of Hugh Grant and Kristin Scott Thomas, who at that time were already too big of stars to play only supporting roles. The frame of that New Year's Eve night, the tightly packed environment of the ship, and the portrayal of the entire devastating romance as a confession addressed to a new victim are all good. In addition, the glossing Indian works ideally as a link between the old and the new world, which is a very wise decision.
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