before the winter chill

On a bit of an impulse (you can do these things when you're retired, you know), I wandered down to the Watershed for a light lunch and then decided to see the afternoon (cut-price-for-oldies!) screening of Philippe Claudel’s latest film “Before The Winter Chill”. I just loved his 2008 film “I’ve Loved You So Long” – which, perhaps not surprisingly and like this film, also starred Kirsten Scott Thomas.

Essentially, it’s a rather elegant depiction of what the Watershed’s blurb describes as “slow rot in the French privileged classes”. Scott Thomas plays the part of the wife (Lucie) of a successful surgeon, Paul (Daniel Auteil). Paul starts receiving flowers every day from a beautiful young woman (Leila Bekhti) who claims they’re a thank-you for her successful operation…  at first, Paul is flattered, but it starts to get uncomfortably difficult when the young woman seems to be stalking him on a daily basis… putting pressure on Paul and Lucie’s comfortable existence.
As you might expect, it’s beautifully acted and impressively put together… BUT, to be honest, I found it incredibly unconvincing as a story.