Nathalie... (2003)

Review by All Movie Guide
Awash in juicy, erotic melodrama but bearing one all-too-obvious plot twist, Anne Fontaine's psychological drama nonetheless provides a glimpse of two generations of French actresses at the top of their game. To think of Nathalie... as 8 Women divided by four would be somewhat misleading: Though it stars two of the duplicitous principals from François Ozon's campy 2002 mystery, the tone of this pairing is deathly serious, which makes the script's erotic element all the more believable, but makes its so-what conclusion even more apparent. Writer Philippe Blasband keeps his plot as simple as that of his breakthrough feature, the teasing, enigmatic Une Liason Pornographique, but the questions left unanswered in that film are mostly spelled out here; and although the dynamic between Fanny Ardant and Emmanuelle Béart is never less than fascinating, it does grow repetitive and increasingly less mysterious as Nathalie... progresses. It's rare that a film can generate carnal heat solely through its dialogue, and Ardant and Béart are more than up to the challenge of performing it -- but a breather or two of humor would've gone a long way in making Fontaine's film more believable. ~ Michael Hastings, All Movie Guide