1974's Love in the Afternoon is stylistically typical of the films of Eric Rohmer but it still manages to be quite unique in his canon. First of all, it may be the most visually ordinary of all his films. His previous film, Claire's Knee, was beautifully shot; the lakeside locations in that film looked amazing. Thus it is all the more surprising to see that this film is almost entirely set indoors or in unremarkable city streets. Next, this is one of the few Rohmer films to feature a married protagonist. While there may not technically be much difference between the long term relationships that previous Rohmer protagonists (such as the man from the previous film) are involved in and marriage, Frederic takes the sanctity of marriage seriously.
As characters go, Frederic is something of a nonentity. This is clearly illustrated in an early scene in which a salesgirl convinces him to buy a shirt when he wasn't even shopping for one. In fact, he specifically tells her that he won't be buying the shirt before trying it on. He even finds it uncomfortable but her insistence is too much for him and he caves in.
Frederic's lack of willpower is once again clear in his interactions with Chloe, a woman he knew (and disliked) before his marriage. She enters his life and tells him that they have always been friends and they will be again. He tells her she is wrong; he barely tolerated her before and he has no interest in seeing her now. He then immediately does everything he can to spend time with her, essentially proving her right and making a liar of himself. Still, in spite of her obvious interest in being more than friends, he somehow has enough willpower to avoid violating his vows.
For most of the film, Frederic seems to have some strength of character as exhibited in his adherence to the rules of marriage. A late scene calls this into question. As a means of seducing him, Chloe tells him that people in polygamous societies are happy to have many lovers. After some consideration, he admits that he would be just as happy to follow that convention if it was the norm in his society. This to me is the crux of the film and the key to understanding Frederic. His malleability and his unwillingness to cheat seemed mysteriously contradictory but this exchange shows that it's actually a very simple contradiction: Frederic can't decide whether to conform to what society expects of him or to what Chloe expects of him. This revelation is quite unique in my cinematic experience: I've never felt like I understood such a realistic character so well. That this singular insight is only possible with an apparently frivolous character in no way diminishes Rohmer's achievement here. At the crucial scene of the film, all pretence has been stripped away from Frederic and his vulnerabilities are impossible to miss. The viewer is left to wonder if there is really much difference between Frederic and himself; perhaps the essential frivolity of Frederic is the frivolity of humankind.
As characters go, Frederic is something of a nonentity. This is clearly illustrated in an early scene in which a salesgirl convinces him to buy a shirt when he wasn't even shopping for one. In fact, he specifically tells her that he won't be buying the shirt before trying it on. He even finds it uncomfortable but her insistence is too much for him and he caves in.
Frederic's lack of willpower is once again clear in his interactions with Chloe, a woman he knew (and disliked) before his marriage. She enters his life and tells him that they have always been friends and they will be again. He tells her she is wrong; he barely tolerated her before and he has no interest in seeing her now. He then immediately does everything he can to spend time with her, essentially proving her right and making a liar of himself. Still, in spite of her obvious interest in being more than friends, he somehow has enough willpower to avoid violating his vows.
For most of the film, Frederic seems to have some strength of character as exhibited in his adherence to the rules of marriage. A late scene calls this into question. As a means of seducing him, Chloe tells him that people in polygamous societies are happy to have many lovers. After some consideration, he admits that he would be just as happy to follow that convention if it was the norm in his society. This to me is the crux of the film and the key to understanding Frederic. His malleability and his unwillingness to cheat seemed mysteriously contradictory but this exchange shows that it's actually a very simple contradiction: Frederic can't decide whether to conform to what society expects of him or to what Chloe expects of him. This revelation is quite unique in my cinematic experience: I've never felt like I understood such a realistic character so well. That this singular insight is only possible with an apparently frivolous character in no way diminishes Rohmer's achievement here. At the crucial scene of the film, all pretence has been stripped away from Frederic and his vulnerabilities are impossible to miss. The viewer is left to wonder if there is really much difference between Frederic and himself; perhaps the essential frivolity of Frederic is the frivolity of humankind.