Twenty-year old Adolphe finds himself drawn irresistibly to Ellénore, a married woman who is ten years his senior. Although she initially repels her young suitor’s unwanted advances, Ellénore soon yields to his charms and the two embark on a passionate love affair.
Acting
Adjani's devastating stillness—every glance is a novel
Cinematography
Candlelit interiors that breathe 19th-century claustrophobia
Director
Benoît Jacquot
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Gabriel-Kane Day-Lewis, playing Ellénore's son, is the actual son of Daniel Day-Lewis and Isabelle Adjani—casting nepotism with uncanny meta-resonance.
Adapted from Benjamin Constant's 1816 novella, the same text that influenced Stendhal's 'On Love' and the entire French Romantic concept of 'amour-passion' as self-destructive obsession.
FR
