Gender-Bending Melodrama "The New Girlfriend" Is A Crowd-Pleaser
By Rob Christopher in Arts & Entertainment on Sep 24, 2015 8:40PM
Anaïs Demoustier and Romain Duris in 'The New Girlfriend.' Photo Courtesy of Cohen Media Group
"I remember what they told us as children," says one of the protagonists of François Ozon's latest film, The New Girlfriend. "'Boys are born in cabbages, girls are born in flowers.' I guess I was born in a cauliflower."
Surely one of France's most versatile living filmmakers, Ozon doesn't limit himself to any particular kind of story, veering from unabashedly campy pop culture trifles (Potiche and 8 Women), to lush melodrama (Angel), austere dramas of crisis (Under the Sand and Time to Leave), and even fables of the fantastic (Ricky). But something that's remained a constant is his playful attitude towards gender, an approach closer to early John Waters than some stuffy academic treatise. And in that respect, The New Girlfriend is pure Ozon, an engaging and crowd-pleasing confection that mines the complex subject of gender for drama as well as laughs.
Based on a novel by Ruth Rendell, best known for her psychological mysteries, it begins with a woman who's already dead. Laura (shades of another young woman?) leaves behind her baby daughter and husband David (Romain Duris), and her best friend Claire (Anaïs Demoustier). At first David and Claire avoid each other. The mere thought of spending time together conjures up unbearable memories. But then one day she shows up at his house unannounced and makes a discovery.
(It's one that makes a spoilers-free review of the movie damned near impossible, so stop reading now if spoilers alarm you).
Anaïs Demoustier in 'The New Girlfriend.' Photo Courtesy of Cohen Media Group
She discovers David cuddling his baby daughter, in a dress and makeup. After pouring her a drink he reveals that he's always had a need to spend time wearing women's clothes; and now that Laura is gone, wearing her things while caring for the baby is his way of working through his grief. Initially Claire is shocked and disgusted. But as time passes she softens her stance. She even christens David's new identity Virginia. Before long Claire and Virginia are going out in public together, shopping at the local mall and eventually going to a nightclub where drag queens are featured. But what will happen when Claire's handsome but clueless husband finds out?
That sounds like the setup for a suspense thriller, and Ozon wryly plays with our expectations, keeping us off kilter with an appropriately Bernard Herrmannesque score by Philippe Rombi and some well-timed fantasy sequences. His method matches his message. He aims to show us how easily, even in this day and age of Caitlyn Jenner's public discussion of her transition and LBGTQ marriage equality, we become uncomfortable when a man "acts like" a woman—or even more confusingly, doesn't meet society's traditional expectations of what makes a "man" or a "woman."
Romain Duris is entirely convincing as both David and Virginia. His character is never confused about who he really is; he is adamant he is not attracted to men, and in fact says his love of women lies at the heart of his need to look and behave like a woman. It's Claire who's confused. At first, it's simply because of his unexpected behavior. But then she realizes that she likes Virginia more than David. As often as the movie makes us laugh, such as during the aforementioned shopping mall sequence, it makes us squirm. There's a particularly effective sex scene that isn't disquieting because of what is shown, but, on the contrary, for the way that Ozon declines to sensationalize the moment.
Yet The New Girlfriend is anything but heavy-handed, maintaining a light touch even when things turn dark in the final third act. There's even a happy ending of sorts, a family literally walking hand in hand into the future. While the blurring of gender is a conundrum for its characters, for the audience it's simply a delightful time at the movies.
The New Girlfriend. Written and directed by François Ozon, based on the novel by Ruth Rendell. Starring Romain Duris, Anaïs Demoustier, Raphaël Personnaz, Isild Le Besco, and Aurore Clément. 108 mins. Rated R.
Opens Friday, Sept. 25 at the Landmark Century.