Wealthy but arrogant writer Jean Hervey comes home one day to find that his wife, Gabrielle, has left him for another man. Realizing her mistake, Gabrielle returns, and the pair begin a merciless analysis of their marriage as the relationship comes undone.
Acting
Huppert's glacial devastation meets Greggory's crumbling hubris.
Direction
Chéreau traps you in one room with two people destroying each other.
Director
Patrice Chéreau
Isabelle Huppert
Gabrielle Hervey
Pascal Greggory
Jean Hervey
Claudia Coli
Yvonne
Thierry Hancisse
Editor-in-Chief
Chantal Neuwirth
Madeleine
Louise Vincent
Guest
Clément Hervieu-Léger
Guest
Nicolas Moreau
Guest
Rinaldo Rocco
Consul
Xavier Lafitte
Guest
Mai David
Maid
Jeanne Herry
Maid
Aude Léger
Maid
Raina Kabaivanska
Cantatrice
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Adapted from Joseph Conrad's 'The Return,' itself a critique of English middle-class restraint — Chéreau relocates it to belle époque Paris to weaponize French theatrical tradition.
The film's color palette shifts from warm amber to corpse-like blue as the afternoon progresses; by the final scene, the marriage is literally unlit.
FR
