"Cheri" - REVIEW

Let me begin this review by making a bold statement. I don't care what your gender or orientation is, you cannot look at Michelle Pfeiffer and deny that this woman is still sexier, at 51, than most of today's starlets. There, now that we have that out of the way, on to the actual review.

A long time ago in that dark period known as...the 80s (DUN DUN DUUUUUUN) the paths of three different people collided: director Stephen Frears, writer Christopher Hampton, and actress Michelle Pfeiffer. Along with Glenn Close and John Malkovich, they worked together and produced "Dangeous Liaisons", which is still one of the best period pieces ever. Now, over 20 years later, Frears, Hampton, and Pfeiffer are working together again. This time Hampton isn't adapting a stage play, but rather two different novels by Collette (I hope I spelled her name correctly...) about Lea (Pfeiffer) and ageing courtesan during France's Belle Epoque period before the arrival of World War I. Lea's friend, a somewhat older and equally wealthy courtesan Ms. Peloux (Kathy Bates, deliciously over the top) has recruited Lea, who has just broken off from her latest client, a man from Russia, to tend to her son. At the age of 19, Fred, nicknamed Cheri (Rupert Friend) has prematurely reached his midlife crisis. He stays in bed all day, eats little, does next to nothing, and doesn't even care enough to have one night stands with local women. Can Lea bring the boy out of his slump? Well, when the affair ends up lasting six years, we'd be safe to assume that yes, she can. But this is only the springboard for the rest of the story, which chronicles the aftermath of Lea's final relationship with a man. As adapted by Hampton, "Cheri" has its ups and downs. There's certainly understated wit in the prickly barbs the characters trade with each other, but then there are also somewhat inconsistent mood shifts. This fault lies much less with Hampton than with the editing. Take for instance, a scene towards the beginning where Cheri and Lea are talking. One moment they're outside (if I remember correctly) and only three sentences later we cut abruptly to a room at night where presumably the SAME conversation is still going on. Problem is, we never get to hear much more before it cuts to another scene entirely. This conversation, which seems to have lasted several...hours...is only shown to us in glimpses so brief that we can't even grasp hold of the deeper meaning it holds for the characters and in the context of the film as a whole. But where such oddities as these unwittingly try to hold the film back, the performances drive it forward. Pfeiffer is radiant to watch here, breathy and airy when trying to be "civil" around people she isn't fond of, and surprisingly sharp when she needs to be. Friend makes a good foil for her as the much less mature and experienced Cheri, with his somewhat refined yet still immature looking face. And of course Kathy Bates is having a ball with her larger than life supporting role, getting excited over gossip and laughing jovially when Cheri accuses her of dressing like a deranged convict. But what's perhaps the most surprising aspect of "Cheri" is the turn it takes as it nears the end. Despite the witty moments, the zingers never inspire uproarious laughter, which could have been a bad thing had it not been for the decidely darker series of conversations at the end. The decision to play up the darker aspects of the story's observations on love, youth, and age helps rectify many of the other problems (scenes not given enough time to breathe, awkward edits, an inconsistent narrator who disappears for a large portion of the film), and help the film become more than just "satisfying", but truly a nicely done effort that falls shy of true greatness or memorability.

Artistically it should be no surprise that the film is gorgeous (and not just the people). The Belle Epoque period is stunningly rendered in both sets and costumes and it's all beautifully shot. Helping things move along is Alexandre Desplat's score, which moves effortlessly between seductiveness and liveliness. The score is one of the film's truly redeeming qualities. It helps keep the film on track, even when it starts to risk losing focus and becoming boring.

Grade: B