Intimate Strangers (8/10)

Anna (Sandrine Bonnaire) tells William (Fabrice Luchini) personal secrets thinking he’s a psychologist. Alas, she’s opened the wrong door and, rather than a psychologist, William is a tax lawyer. What follows is a brilliant entertainment, highlighted by Luchini’s almost constantly perplexed expression.

Last year writer-Director Patrice Leconte gave us one of the best films I saw, Man on the Train, which was the story of the unlikely heterosexual bonding of a bank robber and a stranger who invited him into his home. Now Leconte has done it again.

When Intimate Strangers started out, I thought Anna was a relatively plain looking woman. By the time the film ended, I thought her beautiful.

Told from William’s point of view, Anna is a mystery that captivates him. Captivates him to the point that he can’t help himself.

When you tell the plots, neither of these films sounds particularly compelling. But Leconte is a directorial genius. He tells both stories in such an interesting way that the movies grab you and don’t let you go. There’s no action; nothing’s uproariously funny; not even a hint of nudity; and no foul language. Regardless, this is a subtle tale of personal relationships, one of the more enjoyable films I’ve seen this year. In French with subtitles.

August 7, 2004

The End

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