Une femme de ménage (2002)
Directed by Claude Berri

Film Review

Une femme de ménage is a surprisingly tender and intelligent romantic comedy-drama from director-producer Claude Berri, a major player in French cinema for over two decades.  Although he is best known for his lavish super-productions, such as Jean de Florette (1986) and Germinal (1993), Berri has also directed a number of more modest and intimate works which are perhaps more worthy of interest, many with a strong autobiographical component such as Le Cinéma de papa (1970).

In Une femme de ménage, Berri is shown to be a director of far greater sensitivity and compassion than many of his grander films would suggest.  The film explores the perilous relationship between a mature man and a much younger woman in a way that is both perceptive and insightful - realistic and brutally frank but with a gentle touch of comedy.  It's a low-key, slow moving film, but also one that is strangely satisfying, in some ways reminiscent of the romantic dramas of Eric Rohmer.

One reason why the film works so well is the faultless and thoroughly absorbing performances from its two leads - Jean-Pierre Bacri and Émilie Dequenne, two of the most sought-after and respected actors in French cinema today.  Not long before this film, Dequenne had won acclaim for her leading performance in the Dardenne brothers' Rosetta (1999).  Bacri isn't particularly known for playing romantic parts in this kind of film, but here he shows that he is capable of doing so, and with remarkable depth and subtlety.  His brooding, repressed persona is a perfect contrast to Dequenne's, which bubbles over with post-teenage energy and shallow girly emotions.  It's an impossible match yet the film makes the pairing of the older man with the younger woman seem possible.  The interplay of the two characters is skilfully orchestrated and makes this a compelling slice of life drama.

Film Synopsis

Since his wife left him six months ago, a middle-aged sound engineer, Jacques, has allowed himself to sink into a life of routine and solitary depression.  The state of his apartment - an untidy, neglected mess - reflects his state of mind.  On impulse, he hires a cleaning lady to keep his apartment tidy.  She, an attractive young woman named Laura, relishes her job and seems willing to do anything to please her new employer.  Jacques tries to keep a safe distance from Laura - despite an obvious physical attraction, he knows that the age difference between them, to say nothing of their difference in tastes and interests, will make any kind of non-professional relationship impossible.  When Laura reveals that she has broken up with her boyfriend and has nowhere to live, Jacques reluctantly allows her to move in with him.  After an uncomfortable encounter with his wife, Jacques decides he needs to get away for a few days. Laura cannot bear him to leave her and so he has no choice but to let her accompany him on a short holiday in Brittany.  It is as if they have already become a couple…