Tout pour plaire (2005)
Directed by Cécile Telerman

Film Review

Yet another film about women in the throes of a mid-life crisis!  The phenomenon that was Bridget Jones's Diary appears to have spawned a whole new genre in cinema, and here is the latest of several contributions from France. Tout pour plaire is the debut film from director Cécile Telerman and stars three high-profile French actresses, Mathilde Seigner, Judith Godrèch and Anne Parillaud (she of Nikita fame).  Whilst the film is pleasing to watch and offers the occasional good joke, it does feel lightweight and somewhat riddled with clichés.  Both the script and the mise-en-scéne seem to be afflicted with a slight crisis of identity, so that the film appears torn between offering a realistic portrayal of mid-life angst on the one hand and a Hollywood-style, slightly over-sentimental approach on the other.  This is not a fatal flaw - indeed it helps to emphasise the disorientated state of mind of the protagonists. In any event, the quality of the acting is enough to carry the film through and make it an engaging variation on a familiar theme. Seigner appears to be most at home in Telerman's style of cinema and would take the lead role in her next film, Quelque chose à te dire (2009), alongside Pascal Elbé.

Film Synopsis

Juliette, Florence and Marie are three friends who have known each other since childhood.  Now in their mid-thirties, they are each heading for a domestic mid-life crisis.  When her boyfriend leaves her abruptly, Juliette, a lawyer, finds herself saddled with flat that she can hardly afford to rent.  Florence works for an advertising agency and is married to a company director; neither her husband nor her work seem to interest her any more.  Marie, a hospital doctor who is married to a painter who cannot sell his work, finds herself attracted to another man...