The Housekeeper (2002)

Good , But It Is Overrated By Some

Blending excellent reporting and strong storytelling, this is a disturbing film truly stranger than fiction

While it doesn't offer any answers, it both thrills and makes you think.

Amazing worth wacthing. So good. Biased but well made with many good points.

A housekeeper, young and attractive, got into a relationship with her employer. It is because of her miserable situation of no where to stay? Or a true love happening? I doubt someone can give a clear answer. Maybe that's the nature of relationship. Something happens as it does.What a great movie although a little sort of somber with the artistic twist. Maybe that's the philosophy of life. There is something unexpected however we cannot do anything about it. Why not let us face it with smile... Forget about age of the characters. That is probably the shallow excuse to let those unexperienced people pretend they have understood what the director would like to deliver...Highly recommended for those are still hoping but have to face the fact that life is not merely what people can hope for.

This movie has a light plot and lightly written characters: a middle-class neurotic-grumpy-artist falling in love with his young-trashy-placid housemaid. There is a very fine line between lightness and shallowness and that movie can't avoid falling into clichés, especially regarding the world outside the two main characters (like: the ex wife sleeping with the best friend). But the actors Emilie Dequenne and Jean-Pierre Bacri are just so generous towards their characters that they make them real, and utterly lovable. They are captivating and make that little unpretentious movie an enchanting delight.

This is a good film but because there are some plot holes it cannot rise much above this. It is the story of a middle aged (and rather DULL) man who has recently become single, as his wife left him for another. He's a busy man so he decides to get a part-time housekeeper to tidy up his little apartment. All seemingly goes pretty well until after a few weeks, the much younger housekeeper tells him she is now without a place to live and asks if she can temporarily stay with him. At first he says no, but quickly agrees.So far, so good. Here is where the first problem with the plot occurs. Although they both tend to live rather separate parallel lives in the apartment, inexplicably they start a sexual relationship that seems to come out of nowhere. Apart from feeling grateful he let her stay, it is hard to understand the motivation she had for sleeping with him--he doesn't give very much of himself to her emotionally. For his part, he just seems to be using her for sex in the beginning. Over time, he begins to SLOWLY give himself over to her emotionally but he always seems to be holding back too much. Her intense love of him at this point is just too unbelievable. However, eventually, her love cools and by the end of the picture she's with another (whose mother then makes overtures to our male lead--thinking he's the housekeeper's father). This part actually rang much more true than the original love affair, as I just couldn't see what kept them together at all (despite excellent acting).

While some Americans on lower rungs of the cultural ladder are clamoring for "freedom fries," those who appreciate the special verve and wit often the backbone of a good French film won't want to miss "Housekeeper" (the U.S. title).What could have been little more than a ninety-minute sitcom sparkles both because of the fine performances of the two leads and the story which deviates from an anticipated trite line.Jacques (Jean-Pierre Bacri) saw his marriage crumble when his wife departed. A recording engineer for both jazz and classical discs, he lives a messy life and needs a housekeeper. Responding to an ad he posted in a nearby cafe, Laura (Emily Duquenne) is about twenty years younger than Jacques and eager for the job. Actually desperate. Despite a Luddite reaction against single male's best friend - the vacuum cleaner - Laura straightens out Jacques's flat. But then she asks to move in for a few days as her boyfriend is kicking her out solely because their relationship has ended (we never see this most unreasonable man).One thing leads to another and, no surprise and not a spoiler, Jacques and Laura find themselves making passionate love. She clearly is deeply in lust with him and they take a holiday, motoring to the coast.What happens next? - hey, see the film.A man Jacques's age finding himself with a besotted, beautiful and very horny young woman would, in most stories, be either exploitive or lost in the fantasy of a perceived stroke of incredible fortune. Director Claude Berri gives Jacques a more interesting persona. He has no qualms or guilt about bedding the lovely Laura but he is neither the kind of man who takes selfish advantage of women nor the sort who takes leave of his senses. He's wholly appealing as a decent guy, not a cad or a fool.Laura? Ms. Duquenne plays her character to perfection. She's the kind of ingenue most men want and fear and the daughter who can drive any parent to drink. BUT...she does windows!!!!!Frederic Botton composed a brisk, very nice score."Housekeeper" won't show in many cities but put in on your "To Rent" list.8/10.