Cheri

Had to chat a bit about this movie I saw yesterday because I think I dreamed about it all night.  The story is adapted from a Colette novel.  It was fine.  What was really exciting about this flick was the costumes and sets.  Set during the Belle Epoque in France (they don't quite tell us where it's located, or I might have just missed it; I looked for recognizable scenery but didn't have a clue).  During the height of the Art Nouveau art style, which featured artists such as Klimt, Lalique, and my favorite, Mucha.

It was utterly delightful to roam across the screen and just admire the house and interior shots.  There was a scene where a Mucha lithograph hung on the wall, but it was out of focus because the actress was speaking, and I just wished they would have zoomed in on it.  Sigh...  All the furniture had the curvy design and floral motifs.  The lush fabrics and airy rooms that were not so stuffy as Victorian era and more about design.

And the costumes.  Michelle Pfeiffer was the perfect model for the clothes.  The one green dress (couldn't find a full length pic) was so simple and pretty, but it just mesmerized me to admire it.  One scene she entered a restaurant in a hat that had this big round black lace thingie going on.  Again, mesmerized.  

There were a few scenes in the garden and it just made me long for a lush, simpler time.  Oh, the story was fine, as I've said.  It was about an aging courtesan who comes to the realization she is much too old now for what she once did, and must accept that.  Touching at times.  The pairing of Kathy Bates as Pfeiffer's foil was delicious.  And Rupert Friend, while almost too gorgeous to look at, played the dull, ineffectual playboy almost too well.  He bored me.  :-)

If you're in the mood to be dazzled by a movie and like the time period, I'd suggest you see this one if you can.  Pfeiffer has never looked more stunning.  She absolutely glowed.

M