Rent L'Amant Double (2017)

potentially - L'Amant Double review by AH

a waste of your valuable time a waste of your valuable time a waste of your valuable time a waste of your valuable time a waste of your valuable time a waste of your valuable time a waste of your valuable time a waste of your valuable time a waste of your valuable time a waste of your valuable time a waste of your valuable time a waste of your valuable time a waste of your valuable time a waste of your valuable time a waste of your valuable time

Pathetic Nonsense - L'Amant Double review by EJ

What the heck! Trying to be too clever and producing a ridiculous nonsense movie. Literally left us wanting to vomit! What a mixed up, ugly film.

Tedious - L'Amant Double review by NW

I agree with the two other reviewers. Tedious and pretentious. How this film, or either of the lead actors, got nominated for a awards is beyond me.

Dire, Simply Dire - L'Amant Double review by DT

Cannot find the words but a few which occur: mindless, talentless, thoughtless, clueless etc etc etc etc etc etc etc etc etc etc etc etc etc etc etc 

A provocative, erotic & adult drama which keeps you guessing, with good performances & direction - L'Amant Double review by TB

François Ozon continues his run of provocative, unpredictable but also engrossing films. Whilst many of the other reviews criticised the length and pace of this film, for me it was actually pretty well balanced.

The story is about a woman called Chloé, who when we meet her is suffering from unexplained abdominal pains. She is told that nothing is wrong with her physically and that she should consult a psychiatrist. She goes to see Paul and the two eventually become romantically involved & move in together. However, she discovers that Paul is concealing his real identity, which starts to really mess with Chloé and her emotions.

One of the things I liked most about the film was the fact that it did not take any shortcuts and really leaned into the erotic & sexually duplicitous side of the story. This is a properly adult-film/thriller, with committed performances from both actors. The script also has enough moments to keep you guessing and the twists are really well worked into the story.

If you are expecting a quick moving & fast-paced story, there is no point you watching. This film takes its time setting up the story & slowly ratcheting up the tension. The result is a solid & intriguing film, well-worth your time and attention.

Mirror Images - L'Amant Double review by CH

The double – Dr. Jekyll, Dorian Gray – is a theme upon which many a variant has been made, along with growing conflicts between twin-born children (Elizabethan drama, eighteenth-century novels). The prolific director François Ozon turned to this with L' amant double (2017), adapted at some removes from a novel by the even more prolific Joyce Carol Oates.

Slickly filmed, in chic offices and apartments, the plot turns around Marine Vacth who, after a career as a model feels rootless, feels beset by childhood traumas and amatory dissatisfactions; these take her to a psychiatrist, Jérémie Renier; a passion springs up, which means he can no longer treat her, a situation compounded by their moving in together despite his lack of sympathy for her faithful cat, Milo.

So far, so much Eric Rohmer, you might think. Early on, in the opening moments, viewers have, though, been greeted by medical close-ups along a vagina which is lit to feel rather like a fairground ride. Mirrors are frequently broken; intimate moments are seemingly attended by others, including Renier's twin brother whom Marine Vacth has sought out as a replacement therapist.

This is certainly a new twist on transference.

Events long past certainly have a continuing effect on all this, for all concerned (not least Jacqueline Bisset, who has, naturally enough, two smaller rôles, effectively done).

Is all this worth one's time? Probably not, but Ozon is an accomplished, if variable director who supplies enough here to hold, if vex, the attention: there is interesting biology to be learned here from the nature of twindom, but, as it turns upon the screen, buy-one-get-one-free is not necessarily the best value for us.

Jolly Jumelle Jaunt - L'Amant Double review by CH

 quasi scientific Greek medical myth, merges with French Freudian, erotically charged anecdotal noir nonsense from Francois Ozon. Some slick camera angles with mirroirs and spiral staircases. Do yourself a favour here, go for a run, read a book, rewatch a favourite film, clean your windows, start your tax returns…….