Intimate Strangers (Confidences trop Intimes - 2004 - subtitles)

            Yes, it's French and one of the most interesting psychological dramas I've watched this year.  The setup for the screenplay begins with confusion.  Anna, seeking psychiatric help, mistakenly selects the office of William, a tax attorney.  Before the error can be rectified, Anna has revealed intimate details of her life and her problem(s).  These "therapy" sessions continue even after they acknowledge the mistake and we watch as the psychological tangle of their lives leads them into strange territory.

            Anna, the protagonist, communicates using facial expression, body language and very little dialogue.  William says almost nothing, but his face is full of information.  It's what they don't do or say that creates suspense and a mounting tension as we wonder what in the world is going on in the story.  We are drawn in by their intimacy, yet we are left dangling by their indirection.  And the lack of action or much dialogue forces our attention to more subtle details, for example, the clothes that Anna wears. 

            As the story develops, two triads come into play: the couple and her husband, and the couple and the psychiatrist. 

            The director, Patrice Leconte, also directed The Widow of St. Pierre (2000), which was also a good psychological drama with dire real world consequences, and The Man on the Train (2002), which was a moody, dark psychological study of two characters, a criminal and a professor.  All three films have a characteristic ponderous forward motion and a dark dramatic psychological element.

            Both Sandrine Bonnaire who plays Anna and Fabrice Luchini who plays William are long standing French actors.  They were excellent in their roles.  Believability was never a question.  Bonnaire has a daughter by the American actor, William Hurt. 

            Reviewed August 26, 2005                            Copyright 2005 Charles T. Markee

            MPAA: Rated R for sexual dialogue.