Therese 2012

      This film is an adaptation of a classic novel by Francois Mauriac.  Therese Larrouque is a housewife in the 1920’s of the Landes region in provincial France.  She is locked in a loveless arranged marriage to wealthy and landowning Bernard Desqueyroux.  During this time marriages were used to merge land holdings and to build powerful families.  Therese realizes what she has lost in this marriage when she meets the dashing Portuguese suitor of Anne, Bernard’s sister.

     Too much of Therese’s inner turmoil is conveyed with a frown, deferring her gaze or a worried stare.  I was left wondering why about almost everything she does?  Bernard and his family treat her horribly but public displays must be of an impeccable relationship.  3* (This movie is OK)

110 min, Drama directed by Claude Miller with Audrey Tautou, Gilles Lellouche, Anais Demoustier, Catherine Arditi, Isabelle Sadoyan, Francis Perrin, Jean-Claude Calon, Max Morel, Francoise Goubert, Stanley Weber.

Note:  Blockbuster 4*, imdb 6.1 out of 10, 52% critic 37% audience on Rotten Tomatoes.