Tenue de soirée (1986)
Directed by Bertrand Blier

Film Review

French film director Bertrand Blier is no stranger to controversy, and in Tenue de soirée he frames possibly his most explicit and shocking view of the devastating power of human sexuality.  The film goes much further than his first anarchistic eye-opener, Les Valseuses (1974), in showing the uglier side of male sexuality and generally misogynistic treatment of women.  Although intended as a comedy, the film gets disturbingly close to the truth in many places, and its shock value is heightened by the fact that, beyond this surreal fiction, a sad everyday reality is all too apparent.

The film's two dominant themes are ill-treatment of women and coming to terms with homosexuality.  The former is a recurring theme in Blier's films and is possibly the thing which best defines his unique brand of cinema.   Blier's film are generally about men behaving badly, with the fairer sex generally coming out worse than their male abusers and tormenters. Tenue de soirée is no exception and features some appalling treatment of women - particularly that involving the female lead Monique (who is beaten, humiliated, reduced to a skivvy, before ending up a prostitute in the hands of a thuggish pimp).  Unusually, however, the film goes one step further and places a weak male character in the role of the sexual plaything and victim.

That a man should end up receiving the fate usually reserved for women is one of the most shocking aspects of the Tenue de soirée.  Indeed, so preoccupied is the film with Antoine's descent into the abyss that we scarcely notice Monique's gradual obliteration.  It is the ultimate statement of Blier's misogynistic perspective: women are no longer needed even in the role of the tortured victim; a man can play that role just as well, and be just effective at winning our sympathy.   The chilling question Blier appears to be posing is whether he needs women at all.

With its unashamedly explicit references to sexual practices (some of which would make even the most savvy of nymphomaniacs blush), the film is unquestionably one of Bertrand Blier's most daring and provocative works to date.  In some ways, this unbridled frankness weakens the film and probably alienates a large fraction of cinemagoers who might have appreciated the film for its intellectual content.  Certainly, the seemingly endless stream of bad language and sexual posturing quickly becomes tiring, and when the film does eventually moves down a gear and adopts a less strident tone it appears to lose some of its colour and energy.  The film is also less artistically appealing than some of Blier's other works (such as Trop belle pour toi, the director's next film, which has a great deal of overlap with Tenue de soirée).

What makes this film worth watching, above all else, is the extraordinary contribution from the three lead actors.   Gérard Depardieu, a giant of French cinema, is at his best in Bertrand Blier's films, and in Tenue de soirée he gives one of his most memorable - and atypical  - performances.  It is hard to believe that Depardieu, the symbol of male heterosexual virility in French cinema of the 1980s, could deliver such a convincing portrayal of a hedonistic gay man: this is a performance which just has to be seen to be believed.

The same can equally be said of Depardieu's co-star Michel Blanc, although Blanc's character is far more complex and demands a greater subtlety and dramatic range, which the actor supplies magnificently.  It is not a great surprise that Michel Blanc was awarded the Best Actor award at Cannes for his role in this film.  The delightful and talented actress Miou-Miou completes the awesome trio, her sensitive portrayal perfectly fitting Blier's concept of a down-trodden yet eternally optimistic young woman.

Individually, the three actors are impressive.  Together, they are utterly sublime.  Thanks to their combined efforts, what could easily have been an excessively offensive and muddled cinematic rant is transformed into a spicy jet-black comedy - one which is as keenly poignant as it is entertaining (albeit mildly offensive).

Film Synopsis

Antoine and Monique are a young couple who find that their relationship is falling apart.  Despite Antoine's declarations of love, Monique is so fed up with their squalid life of poverty that she is on the verge of walking out on him.  A stranger, Bob, suddenly appears on the scene and begins to exert an irresistible influence over them.   First, the couple are persuaded to assist Bob in burgling rich households, and then they find themselves at the mercy of his animalistic sexual impulses.  Monique is soon eased out of the picture as Bob makes Antoine his reluctant lover…