Sophie Marceau's fourth feature with her director partner Andrzej Zulawski is a portentous epic that will have even the most ardent Europhile racing for the exit.
Inspired by classic 17th-century novel La Princesse De Clèves, Zulawski's update follows Clélia (Sophie Marceau), a photographer torn between loyalty to her husband and desire for photojournalist Nemo (Guillaume Canet).
Marceau clearly has a ball with the complex character but Zulawski's cluttered script undermines her by incorporating subplots involving a press baron, his eccentric family and gangsters chasing Nemo. All this pushes La Fidélité perilously close to the three-hour mark, with only the occasional sex scene to break up the tedium.
Inspired by classic 17th-century novel La Princesse De Clèves, Zulawski's update follows Clélia (Sophie Marceau), a photographer torn between loyalty to her husband and desire for photojournalist Nemo (Guillaume Canet).
Marceau clearly has a ball with the complex character but Zulawski's cluttered script undermines her by incorporating subplots involving a press baron, his eccentric family and gangsters chasing Nemo. All this pushes La Fidélité perilously close to the three-hour mark, with only the occasional sex scene to break up the tedium.
