Intimate Strangers (2004)

Playful,erotic?...ehh?...not quite enough!

The idea is interesting: a woman walks into a tax accountant's office and mistakes him for a therapist...or does she? She divulges intimate details of her falling apart marriage in a few minutes and leaves. Very noir! This continues for weeks. Does the accountant reveal he is not a therapist? Is he going too far? Is she going too far?

When all is said and done, this terribly laborious Patrice Leconte film has little payoff. The plot, for lack of a better term, builds, but never really explodes. Instead, we are treated to a very unsatisfying bond that never actually materializes. I kept wanting something to justify the DVD advertizement; "Playful,erotic,suspenseful" and "One of the Best Movies of the Year", but nope...didn't happen!

I have seen all of these wonderful French actors before, Fabrice Luchini, Sandrine Bonnaire and Anne Brochet, in much better roles. Patrice Leconte's work still is an up and down affair with me. Apart from Ridicule, Leconte's famous works The Girl On the Bridge (La Fille sur le pont) [ NON-USA FORMAT, PAL, Reg.2 Import - Great Britain ], The Widow of Saint-Pierre, and Man on the Train (L'Homme du Train) leave me flat and wanting. Just not my cup of tea.

French with English subtitles. Wouldn't recommend unless Leconte is your end-all! April 20, 2008

interesting subject gets a not so interesting treatment...

Intimate Strangers has some very good moments which compel you to watch more - particularly as the main character wrestles with the mystery of his strange guest.. yet the psychological interest is saddly so spread out and sparse that it is a little difficult to wade accross the entirety of this film.. Somehow you think that a mystery is being held back.. and yet when certain plot elements are revealed it comes as a gret let down..
Nevertheless, there is some fine acting in this movie and at times it truly does shine.. I would recommend it.. but at the same time caution against any high hopes.. January 17, 2008

Intimate Strangers

An ingenious French treat with psychological underpinnings, director Leconte's "Intimate Strangers" is a meditation on the randomness of life and fate. Though the conceit may sound a bit contrived, Leconte brings it off thanks to a subtly intelligent script and dead-on performances by Luchini as William and Bonnaire as the entrancing Anna. Also look for Michel Duchaussoy, who provides professional wisdom (and comic relief) as the real doctor. In the company of these "Strangers," you'll be deeply affected. July 20, 2007

Knocking on the wrong door

I bought this movie because I was intrigued by the storyline and I wanted to watch Anne Brochet. I was slightly disappointed by the movie, but Brochet did a very fine job(I only wish that she had a bigger part here). I think the biggest drawback of the movie is that the conversations (or the lack of it) between the two main characters did not live up to its astoundingly clever opening plot. I can accept their first two meetings being cut short because of the circumstances of their meeting, but the subsequent ones continued to be terse and abrupt. There's just not enough material to support the improbable premise. The director scramble to prop up the main storyline with subplots and characters (William's secretary, his last girlfriend, the real shrink). While they're all quite interesting and fit well into the plot, but I thought it was really the last straw when Ana's husband showed up at William's office. Overall, Sadrine and Fabrice did a good job in the title roles (especially the latter), but the storyline and the relationship between Ana and William could have been developed better. February 12, 2007

A New Word Is Coined: "Transfixiation"

Although it's a stereotype, French films are sometimes criticized for being comprised of meandering conversations and lots of cigarette smoking. In the case of "Confidences trop intimes," this cliché comes alive. The results are not without entertainment value, but be warned that this is an emotionally stifling film much of the way. (And physically stifled as well; it almost entirely takes place in our protagonist's flat.)

The only way that INTIMATE STRANGERS makes sense is as an off-kilter homage to both Hitchcock and noir films. The inappropriately obtrusive soundtrack makes it abundantly clear to the viewer that this is seemingly a thriller, but rest assured that director Patrice Leconte has other ideas. This is a directionless story of platonic bonding, apparently, though the odd flirtatious enchantments that the radiant Sandrine Bonnaire throws William's way seem to be sort of cruel after a while.

EXTRA CREDIT: To Fabrice Luchini, who manages to make it through practically this entire movie with only slight variations on his expression of utter surprise. Between the stifling circumstances and Fabrice's transfixed stare, the movie is "transfixiation" epitomized. November 28, 2006

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