My Sex Life . . . or How I Got Into An Argument
The erotic forays and existential musings of a tribe of Parisian
late-twentysomethings unfold compelling under the inventive, hawk-eyed
direction of Arnaud Desplechin, who also co-wrote the script. At the heart of a
stunning ensemble cast is Mathieu Almaric as Paul Dedalus. Slightly built,
fey-featured, Almaric is one of the more charming and mercurial antiheroes in
recent movies.
An assistant professor of philosophy who can't finish his dissertation, Paul
distracts himself with constant sexual crises. He believes his girlfriend of 10
years, Esther (the astonishingly good Emmanuelle Devos), is holding him back,
yet he can't seem to break up with her. He briefly bedded Sylvia (played with
diamond-hard sexiness by Marianne Denicourt), the provocative ice maiden
girlfriend of best bud Nathan (Emmanuel Salinger), two years back and still
guiltily covets her. But once Paul manages to send Esther packing, he hits on
the volatile, hyper-needy Valérie (a brilliantly quirky Jeanne Balibar).
He also wants ethereal Patricia (Chiara Mastroianni), the guileless girlfriend
of his cousin/roommate Bob (Thibault de Montalembert), who constantly regales
Paul with hilarious anecdotes of his own infidelities. The friends are together
constantly, which makes for some exquisite sexual tension as they breezily
quote Kundera and Kierkegaard over their café au lait.
But Paul's existence is not all sexual angst: the "argument" is with his
ex-friend Rabier, a pretentious academic who lands a plummy job in Paul's
department. Rabier's snubs catalyze Paul's frustration even as he continues his
aimless sexual pursuits. Under Desplechin's sure hand, and realized by the
actresses' superb portrayals, the complex personalities of Paul's conquests
(all leggy brunettes with improbably high cheekbones) come to the fore,
suggesting several alternate narratives shaped by their perceptions, not
Paul's.
Three hours is a long time to watch a film about anyone's sex life, even one
of those scruffy-but-cute French guys. But this intimate epic breezes by like a
stroll along the Seine, shimmering with intelligence and intrigue. At the
Coolidge Corner.
-- Peg Aloi