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‘Bonjour Tristesse’ Review: Chloë Sevigny Feels Miscast in Female-Driven Retelling of Françoise Sagan’s Novel
The intrigue is the same in 'Bonjour Tristesse' remake, but transposed to the present, the once-controversial 1954 novel feels oddly old-fashioned.
Montreal-born writer-director Durga Chew-Bose offers an impressionistic retelling, emphasizing tactile details: the way the Côte d’Azur sun hits the skin, the relief of sitting before an open icebox on a hot summer night, the smell of Dad’s aftershave. So much of the film is spent simply relaxing in moments that, however lazy they may feel, have been meticulously framed (by gifted DP Maximilian Pittner) to evoke the most fashionable sense of ennui: Cécile tracing secret messages on her boyfriend’s bare back, or else snoozing in a low mustard-yellow chair. From the colored tiles that appear beneath the opening credits (it’s impossible to compete with those designed by Saul Bass for the original) to the classic fashion and cars (Sevigny wears a scarf on her head, while McInerny models several vintage swimsuits), it doesn’t seem to understand what Anne represents.
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