With two of the finest mid-age French actresses and one of the finest older generation actors this film has a lot going for it on paper. With so many beautiful and talented actresses in France I find it almost mandatory to separate them by age-groups and it's not so long ago that both Karin Viard and Isabelle Carre were in the youngest category that now features names like Cecile de France, Melanie Douty, Deborah Francois etc and as Viard and Carre move upwards lustrous names like Carole Bouquet, Isabelle Huppert, Nathalie Baye, Catherine Frot and the rest step aside. On paper the storyline is flimsy to say the least; buttoned-up Carre has come to the country to arrange the funeral of her mother and encounters the ultimate free-lover in Viard, who delights in relating her many sexual exploits to the prudish, strait- laced Carre. Inevitably, of course, Carre emerges from her shell just as the moment Sergi Lopez is beachcombing. There's actually more to it than this but you need to look for it.
Review of 21 Nights with Pattie
