Upon hearing the (English-language) title of the movie “”Intimate Strangers””, directed by Patrice Laconte (“”Man on the Train””, “”The Girl on the Bridge””), one thinks of the word ‘intimate’ in the, well, physical sense. The film, whose original title is “”Confidences trop intimes””, deals with another kind of intimacy, one that is much deeper, and deals with the sharing of secrets between two people over their personal lives. The two lead characters reveal things to each other that they dare not tell anyone else.
As a side note, this is a French movie, and so events come across as more subtle than would happen in an American-made production, so that is something to bear in mind…The movie begins with a woman, to be identified later as Anna Delambre (Sandrine Bonnaire), going to an appointment of some sort. She walks into what she believes to be the right office, meets a well-dressed man (Fabrice Luchini) there, and gives an explanation of why she has come. To the man’s astonishment, she asks to come back for further ‘sessions’, to which he tepidly agrees.As it turns out, the guy, whose name is William Farber, and whose office is actually down the hall from Anna’s intended destination, is a tax lawyer–someone who helps people go over their financial matters. While this does entail going over clients’ personal information, and hearing some of their life stories, William is not quite prepared for hearing what Anna has to say. She has already told him about her unhappy marriage, and with her plans to return for further meetings, the lawyer has to keep up the ruse of being an analyst of a different sort.It’s at this point that he turns to the real therapist that Anna intended to meet, Dr. Monnier (Michel Duchaussoy–who, as pointed out in the film, looks very much like a psych specialist). The real Dr. is helpful, albeit quick to ask for money—after their first meeting, he charges Farber 120 Euros–gives the lawyer advice on how to proceed, and even tries to put thoughts in his head. Also giving advice is Jeanne (Anne Brochet), a librarian who is William’s ex-girlfriend, and who he still seems to be getting over, even as she begins dating the jock-ish Luc (Laurent Gamelon).William’s life, as viewed periodically in the movie, is generally a simple, and lonely, existence. He spends quiet nights alone in the flat that also serves as his office, and spends his days giving tax advice to his customers (admittedly not the most exciting line of work); it’s just him, his secretary Madame Mulon (Helene Surgere), and the occasional visitor. Therefore, when Anna starts coming by to discuss the (very) personal aspects of his life, it becomes like a breath of fresh air and he looks forward to their “”sessions””–when she misses one, for instance, he becomes worried.[pagebreak]The general theme of the film is the need someone to share their thoughts, feelings—really, just about anything—with someone else. This doesn’t need to be in the form of a romantic relationship, but rather opening up verbally, sharing innermost thoughts, troubles, etc. The phrase, “”a penny for one’s thoughts”” gains new meaning, especially in terms of a patient being the payor when going to a psychiatrist (“”a penny, and then some, to listen to one’s thoughts”” is more like it).The movie shifts from comic, to more dramatic moments. Again, an American movie would be less subtle, and try to present a lot of comic, almost slapstick-ish misunderstandings. There is humor in this film, ranging from the “”sessions”” that Farber has with Monnier to the character of Mulon–a nosy and underappreciated secretary–to Farber’s looks of quiet astonishment, but the real strength lies with the developing relationship between the two leads.This film’s lighter moments also keep things from otherwise getting too dark and serious, the latter suggested by the ominous music (done by Pascal Esceve), and the continual shots of Anna running through the rain. Matters also become heavy later in the film, when William starts questioning (on Monnier’s advice) Anna’s stories. Then there are the fade outs, whereby things periodically go to black.These fade outs are one of the few minuses with this movie, as when the screen goes dark it at first leads one to believe there’s something technically wrong going on (and time to talk to the theater manager). The other downside is that things work out neatly at the end, but then again not too neatly–this movie is about subtlety, remember. “”Intimate Strangers”” works then, from its humor, the relationship (and realization of similarities) between the two main characters, to the little things, such as the symbolism and bit players like the woman in William’s building and the soap opera she watches, to a phobic patient of Monnier’s, to the look of individuals like William and Monnier (they ‘look’ appropriate for their professions). Even the music, which seems out of place at first, and seems more appropriate for a thriller, serves as a serious undercurrent to the procedings. After all, telling someone else your personal secrets is serious business, as it provides clues to what one is really like.Grade: A-EM Review by Andrew Haas8/6/04