After (2013)
Directed by Géraldine Maillet

Film Review

For her debut film as a director, Géraldine Maillet grabs a job lot of well-worn clichés, throws them up into the air, and somehow (miraculously) ends up with a romantic drama that is both engaging and hauntingly original. The great risk that Maillet took was that her protagonists (the bored bourgeois woman and over-sexed young philanderer) would remain the archetypes they first appear to be, but thanks to her talented lead performers - Julie Gayet and Raphaël Personnaz - this doesn't happen. By the midpoint, After has somehow gone way beyond the clichés and becomes something quite novel - an absorbing inversion of the classic romantic drama, ironic but resonating with a poignant truth. It would be inaccurate to qualify the film as an unalloyed success - the pace does tend to drag in a few places and the mise-en-scène occasionally lacks confidence - but, imbued with a distinctive ambiance and impressing with the quality of its lead performances, it is far from being a failure. Judging by this stylish opener, Maillet is definitely a filmmaker to watch out for.

Film Synopsis

One night in Paris, a woman meets a man.  Julie is beautiful, married, well-adjusted.  Guillaume is a Don Juan-type, free and impulsive.  They appear awkward and embarrassed by their first encounter.  He is too attentive.  She is too scornful and resists.  But then Cupid works his magic and they end up spending the night together...