Michelle Pfeiffer and Rupert Friend as ill-fated lovers in Cheri. Watch the trailer: http://www.moviefone.com/movie/cheri/36723/main
There's lots of talk in the media about cougars, a term for older women cavorting with younger men. Usually we see the opposite in real life and in movies where the age gap sometimes seems unrealistic with the greying man mismatched with his nubile co-star. After Entrapment with Sean Connery and Catherine Zeta-Jones came out, Mad TV did a nasty but hilarious parody of a love scene from their movie. Try to catch a rerun of this sketch where during their kiss, his false teeth fall into her mouth, and other funny stuff.
In Cheri, based on novel written in 1920 by the French writer Colette of Gigi fame, here we see the relationship between a rich, retired courtesan played by a glamorous Michelle Pfeiffer and her friend's spoiled, bored son, Rupert Friend, whose nickname is a term of endearment and the film's title. What starts as an arrangement between Pfeiffer and Friend's calculating mother played by Kathy Bates to break the nineteen-year old handsome boy of his decadent habits turns into a hidden affair. Here the disparity in age works as it follows social conventions of the times. When Mom arranges a marriage for Friend to a wealthy friend's daughter, everything goes wrong. This darker side to the plot is not revealed in the trailer.
The film's French pre-WWI atmosphere is a treat for the eyes as every detail in decor and costuming seems right and enhanced by the skilled camerawork. The story moves slowly for us to observe characters' actions and thoughts revealed on their faces. The dialogue is witty and reminded me of Oscar Wilde's clever one-liners. The production values and script offer stiff competition to the actors who are up to the task including those in the smallest parts. Pfeiffer gets better all the time as an actress (She's 51, sexier than ever, and ages better than a bottle of fine wine.) and brings out the most of her cool, controlling character whose facade cracks at the end during her final closeup, the film's ending. Friend's smoldering, sullen intensity is a good contrast to her and the other characters who follow society's rules. He lets his selfish emotions get the better of him and only Pfeiffer can rein him in.
The film's French pre-WWI atmosphere is a treat for the eyes as every detail in decor and costuming seems right and enhanced by the skilled camerawork. The story moves slowly for us to observe characters' actions and thoughts revealed on their faces. The dialogue is witty and reminded me of Oscar Wilde's clever one-liners. The production values and script offer stiff competition to the actors who are up to the task including those in the smallest parts. Pfeiffer gets better all the time as an actress (She's 51, sexier than ever, and ages better than a bottle of fine wine.) and brings out the most of her cool, controlling character whose facade cracks at the end during her final closeup, the film's ending. Friend's smoldering, sullen intensity is a good contrast to her and the other characters who follow society's rules. He lets his selfish emotions get the better of him and only Pfeiffer can rein him in.
Cheri is directed by Steven Frears who worked with Pfeiffer on 1988's witty Dangerous Liaisons, another costumer about an earlier French period where society's rules must be obeyed and those who don't follow them are ruined. Cheri is the lesser and shorter of these two movies but also worth your time if you don't expect a lot of action. Classy, well-crafted, and witty are the key words here.
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