Der andere Liebhaber (2017)

Der andere Liebhaber: Directed by François Ozon. With Marine Vacth, Jérémie Renier, Jacqueline Bisset, Myriam Boyer. Chloé, a fragile young woman, falls in love with her psychoanalyst, Paul. A few months later she moves in with him, but soon discovers that her lover is concealing a part of his identity.

“u0026quot;Lu0026#39;Amant Double (2017 release from France; US title Double Lover; 115 min.) brings the story of Chloe. As the movie opens, Chloe is discussing unexplained stomach aches with her doctor, who decided to refer Chloe to a psychologist, Paul Meyer. After a number of sessions, Chloe and Paul fall in love and she moves in with Paul. By coincidence, Chloe finds out that Paul has a twin brother, Louis, also a psychologist. Why didnu0026#39;t Paul tell Chloe about his twin brother? What becomes of Paul and Chloe? At this point we are 15 min,. into the movie, but to tell you more of the plot would spoil your viewing experience, youu0026#39;ll just have to see for yourself how it all plays out.u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eCouple of comments: this is the latest movie from well-regarded French director Francois Ozon, who previously brought us u0026quot;Frantzu0026quot;, u0026quot;In The Houseu0026quot;, u0026quot;Poticheu0026quot;, just to name those (I absolutely loved u0026quot;In the Houseu0026quot;). Here he goes a very different direction, and brings a (semi-erotic) psychological thriller that even has some Hitchcockian elements to it: is everyone really who they appear to be? who is misleading whom? It all should make for a terrific movie. Alas, it isnu0026#39;t to be, and not by a long shot. Due to the plot-heavy nature of this film, I really donu0026#39;t want to say much more . But let me just say that by the end, it was utterly impossible to keep track as to who really was who, and some of the plot twists are nothing short of preposterous. Beware, there is quite a bit of nudity in the film, starting with a very weird opening shot. Belgian actor Jérémie Renier plays the dual roles of the twin brothers, and does the best he can with the material heu0026#39;s given. French actress Marine Vacth, on the other hand, looks utterly lost as Chloe. The legendary Jacqueline Bisset, as the mother, is unrecognizable (I didnu0026#39;t even realize it was her until the end credits rolled).u003cbr/u003eu003cbr/u003eu0026quot;Lu0026#39;Amant Doubleu0026quot; premiered at last yearu0026#39;s Cannes Film Festival (how it made the festivalu0026#39;s cut is absolutely beyond me). u0026quot;Double Loveru0026quot; recently opened on a single screen for all of Southwest Florida. The Saturday early evening screening where I saw this at was attended okay but not great (about 15 people). I cannot imagine that this will play a long time in the theater. I typically love foreign movies, and knowing Ozonu0026#39;s reputation going in, I was really looking forward to this. While in good conscience I cannot recommend u0026quot;Double Loveru0026quot;, I of course encourage you to check it out, be it in the theater, on VOD or eventually on DVD/Blu-ray, and draw your own conclusion.”