Film
What's on at the cinema plus reviews of the latest movie and DVD releases
Bookmark this pageLa Lectrice (1988)
Director: Michel Deville
Movie review
From Time Out Film Guide
La lectrice, wonderfully played by Miou-Miou, is Constance, a girl who likes reading to her boyfriend in bed. One night she begins a novel by Raymond Jean called La Lectrice, whose leading character, Marie also likes reading... The camera follows Constance /Marie between the covers as she has social intercourse with four people who are disabled in some way: a boy in a wheelchair, a little girl whose mother is too busy to look after her, a bedridden war widow, an impotent company director. The texts chosen are appropriate (L'Amant, Alice, War and Peace, Les Fleurs du Mal). It becomes clear that each client is after attention of a different kind, but as soon as Marie plays along, a minor disaster ensues; only when she has to read the mucky Marquis to a geriatric judge does she begin to have doubts. This elegantly erotic and erudite games-playing has something for everyone: voyeurs will delight in the nudity, poseurs will prefer the many and various striking of attitudes, and penseurs will ponder on the way language is both a lexical and a sexual minefield. Set, too, against the beautiful wintry background of Arles as it contrasts with the colour-coded cast and the soundtrack of Beethoven sonatas.Author: MS
Cast & crew
Director: Michel Deville
Producer: Rosalinde Deville
Cast: Miou-Miou, Régis Royer, Christian Ruché, Marianne Denicourt, Charlotte Farran, Maria Casarès, Pierre Dux, Patrick Chesnais full cast
Duration: 98 mins
Most popular on this site
Top Stories
Has David Cronenberg turned tame?
Has director David Cronenberg veered too far from his radical and bloody roots with new film 'A Dangerous Method'?
The 10 worst date movies
Just in time for Valentine's Day, we present ten of the least romantic films ever made
Where to watch this year's Oscar-nominated films
Find out where to watch 2012's Oscar-nominated films in London cinemas
10 unlikely badboy biopics
Featuring Phil Collins, Jeremy Clarkson, Nick Clegg, David Starkey and a host of other unlikely subjects
Interview: Sean Durkin on 'Martha Marcy May Marlene'
The first-time director of the brilliant new thriller discusses religious cults and robot boxing
Pop-up cinema for Valentine's Day
Side-step romantic clichés with some alternative Valentine’s viewing
What do you think?
Post your review now