Place Vendôme (1998)

The performances transcend the film's tropes, grounding it in characters that feel more complete than this subgenre often produces.

The film makes a home in your brain and the only cure is to see it again.

It really made me laugh, but for some moments I was tearing up because I could relate so much.

Strong acting helps the film overcome an uncertain premise and create characters that hold our attention absolutely.

elegance is the basic virtue of this beautiful film. the elegance of story and performances, the elegance of details and the tension. and, sure, obvious, the elegance of Catherine Deneuve. a film about the confrontation against the past, the revelation about old experiences, the struggle for survive and the rules of a small world in which the gems are more important than the people. short, a seductive film. for the theme and for the inspired way to translate it in the image. for the beautiful science of trip in essence of the gestures and states of characters. for the air of an universe who seems be artificial. and for the great job of Deneuve.

The Deneuve's film. The story has not any original element, the action is confuse, the theme of widow in rout is very old. But, the value of this movie exists. And it is present in every scene.Catherine Deneuve's art is the solution. The art to transmit gestures of an ambiguous fight is subtle and powerful.The elements of resignation are pieces of beautiful miniature.The tiredness, relation with the past, limits of memories, color of words, revenge's intentions, search and fear, gems and victims are episodes of an essential trip .Marianne is not only a character of a French actress but reflexion of a magnificent art, in every acting detail is a touching drop of precision.A film with faint brightness and misty soul.

If this movie had been better paced and had more likable and 3-dimensional characters I would have liked it a lot. As it is, it's at best an average movie. But, the movie is slow as molasses and the pacing crawls like a snail. But, given that Catherine Deneuve's character seems underdeveloped and unlikable, the movie SEEMS even longer and slower than it is. It's really a shame, as there were elements of a good story but it just looks like the film was rushed into production before the complex plot was worked out--sort of looking like it was improvised. And, because of that, it's difficult to know WHO Deneuve is--a drunk, an idiot or a person who LOOKS like a drunk idiot but isn't. Regardless, the film just seemed unreal and pointless. In addition, it abounds with shaky camera work--obviously it was shot with cheap equipment. I'm sorry to sound so negative, but the French are capable of much better stories than this.

The plot of this film may centre around scams in the the diamond trade but don't expect slick plotlines and witty, glamorous characters. The film offers instead a look behind the glamour at individuals worn down by their lives, by wrong decisions and damaging relationships. These relationships have developed between characters involved at some time in questionable aspects of the trade and appear to suffer as if mirroring the dishonesty and deceitfulness of the scams. It is a story told at a slow pace allowing the details to unfold and to enable us to get to know the characters and understand their motivation. The acting is superb, particularly Catherine Deneuve, and the film ends on a note which suggests some kind of atonement and reconciliation.