Leaving

Whether or not you believe that such an upper class, elegant, educated woman as Scott Thomas’s Suzanne would fall for Lopez’s overweight rough diamond, there’s no denying the convincing sizzle conjured up between the pair. In the third corner of the triangle, Yvan Attal  as Samuel is a glowering screen presence – suave and self-contained, but emotionally cold and distant. Suzanne’s two surly teenage kids, David and Marian, are little better. No wonder the poor woman craved a bit of Mediterranean warmth! Attal’s performance becomes more threatening and edgy as the plot proceeds, in stark and wonderful contrast to that of Lopez. Despite the latter’s lowly background and criminal history, Ivan is a warm, honest and loving man and his relationship with his small daughter, whom he rarely sees, is touching.

Director Corsini makes use of some tantalising filmic and plot devices to keep us provided with suspense and interest. The film opens with Suzanne getting out of bed, then a gunshot is heard. Suddenly we are taken back six months earlier although we never find out who is shot until the very end. Many of the scenes are short, so interest seldom flags whilst Camini manages to realize plenty of visual variety in the highly erotic love-making scenes. The design team also make good use of the contrasts between Suzanne’s modern, sleek and sterile home and the fields where the lovers enjoy walking and the old shack in the hills which they hope to renovate.

Much of the attraction of this film for me lies in Scott Thomas’s performance. She is an actress who can shift from cool and aloof to playfully sexy to passionately intense, and the whole gamut is given free rein here, enough to earn her a Cesar nomination for Best Actress. At times her face is so expressive you can read her thoughts. At times Suzanne behaves like a giddy schoolgirl in love, and that can be a stretch of the bounds of credibility, but again, Scott Thomas does it so well that we can accept it.

This plot would surely sober up women contemplating leaving their husbands, especially if they have a husband as vindictive as Samuel, whose damaged ego makes him determined to destroy the woman he purports to love. I guess overall, there is nothing new to this Madame Bovery-ish plot – a woman trying to escape her routine to something more authentic and fulfilling - but as usual the French do it so well. 

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