The way that The New Girlfriend speeds through the film’s exposition with a
cleverly stylistic and dialogue-free opening sequence, I was certain that
filmmaker François Ozon (The Swimming
Pool, 8 Women) was rushing in a
specific direction. Instead, The New
Girlfriend wanders aimlessly throughout a number of different tones and
ideas, never committing to any one direction enough to fully deliver. Moments
of the narrative seem to have the social sensitivity and relevance of a movie
like The Danish Girl, though the
peculiarities of sexuality are nearly turned into tools of ominous suspense and
mystery, all wrapped up in a series of scenes that awkwardly shift tones between
comedy and melodrama.
The film begins
with a lifelong friendship between two schoolmates, Claire (Anaïs Demoustier)
and Laura (Isild Le Besco), ending with a tragic death that separates them.
Laura dies shortly after childbirth, leaving her husband David (Romain Duris)
to care for their baby alone. Claire is also married, though the love for her
husband (Raphaël Personnaz) seems secondary to that for her departed friend.
While mourning this loss, Claire surprises David with a visit and discovers that
he has begun dressing in Laura’s old clothing. Though he claims it to be for
the benefit of their child, it gradually becomes clear that David takes some
personal pleasure out of being a woman.
As the only one
who knows his secret, Claire becomes an accomplice to David’s fetish,
unraveling her own repressed sexual desires along the way. Much of this is
conveyed through the subtleties of Demoustier’s reactionary performance, along
with occasional fantasy sequences that are somehow blunt while simultaneously
remaining slightly ambiguous. David’s transformation is at the center of the
narrative, but it is Claire’s journey which fills the film with nuance.
Unfortunately, despite Claire being the most engaging character in the
narrative, her story feels sadly underdeveloped. Not only does she never
vocalize her true desires in the same way David does, but the troubles of her
own marriage are never addressed, swept under the rug in a contrived
“happily-ever-after” ending skipping over any scenes of resolution.
The Blu-ray disc
comes with a behind-the-scenes making-of featurette, along with 10 deleted
scenes. Perhaps the structure of the narrative would have changed with the
additional footage and an alternate edit of the film, but they seem more of an
indicator that there was difficulty constructing the final product. Also
included is the film’s theatrical trailer.
Entertainment Value:
5.5/10
Quality of
Filmmaking: 6/10
Historical
Significance: 4/10
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