Synopsis: French vs. American social customs and behaviors are observed in a story about an American visiting her Frenchman-wed sister in Paris. Life and love are examined when the two families meet.

Now for the Zone's Eye View:

By Michelle Snow

Director: James Ivory

Cast: Kate Hudson, Naomi Watts, Leslie Caron, Stockard Channing, Glenn Close, Romain Duris, Stephen Fry, Samuel Labarthe, Sam Waterston, Thierry Lhermitte, Matthew Modine and Bebe Neuwirth

"The French always say 'of course', no matter what happens. Their world will be falling apart and they'll just say 'but of course', like they knew it was going to happen and they're not going to let it bother them," says the broken-hearted Roxy to her sister Isabel on the train. 

That dialog could also be a metaphor for this film as it tries to integrate American cultures and values with that of the French. It's billed as a romantic comedy, but I really found it neither, despite a few light-hearted moments, most at the expense of the Americans learning the French social customs.

As the movie opens, the American born Roxy [Watts], pregnant with second child, has just been left by her French husband [Duris]. He crosses paths at the taxi outside with Roxy's sister Isabel, visiting from the States. Isabel [Hudson] tries to help her sister cope with the situation, but at the same time, finds herself more and more wrapped up in lies and deceit as she explores l'amour with various French men. Lies and deceit brought on by becoming the secret mistress of the rich and powerful Edgar Cossett [Lhermitte], who also happens to be the married uncle of Roxy's husband. So as Roxy is dealing with another woman stealing her husband, Isabel becomes the "other woman" to a different relationship in the family. Things get even more complicated when the mother, father and brother arrive from the states to help straighten things out.

As the relationships between the two families get even more intertwined with each other, there are two subplots introduced. One deals with a possibly expensive painting that, while inherited by Roxy's family, is now considered marital property in the divorce proceedings. The other involves the American husband [Modine] of the woman who stole away Roxy's husband. 
Normally I enjoy these multi-plotline movies filled with interesting characters portrayed by a cast of talented actors. But this movie just missed the mark with me on so many levels. Le Divorce wants to be a French movie, bitterly amusing and terribly cynical and sophisticated. Instead, it comes across as an American take on that French movie.

It also wastes the talents of so many of the actors in the movie, reducing them to almost mere caricatures confined by the tight editing of the many vignettes that make up this movie. I especially disliked the introduction of the American husband to the story. This particular storyline was just written so wrong and really detracted from the movie as a whole.

With all the characters and plot lines involved, Le Divorce also seems like two movies sewn haphazardly together. One is a charming, innocent comedy starring the impossibly luminous Isabel, the naïve young woman engaged in a series of romantic misadventures in Paris. The other movie is a tragic, painful exploration of love and betrayal, in which Roxy spends most of her time on the edge of bursting into tears.

Most disappointing was the way the characters came off as almost stereotypical. The Americans were brash, rude and only concerned with themselves. The French were blasé, cultured and deceptive.

Overall, Le Divorce could have been a very entertaining movie. Instead I left feeling like I was expecting champagne and only got a sparkling wine.
But of course.

4 out of 10