Pouty Brigitte Bardot in the movie that made her an international star. Is it me or does her nubile orphan Juliette bear the basic "accoutrements" of those legendary tragediennes of 19th century English literature like Tess of the D'Urbervilles or Eustacia Wye? It might explain Juliette's last name: Hardy. Except "And God Created Woman" is set in St. Tropez and is not a tragedy. Flat out, it's a middle-aged Frenchman's chic, paternalistic vision of the irrepressible nymphet. By paternalistic, I mean we know more about what the men in her life think about her than what she thinks about them or herself. Curt Jurgens' character (who, I think, stands in for director Roger Vadim) sizes her up quickly, and in the end, blows town with Christian Marquand who plays Antoine, the man she really wants. He's got her number; to him, she's the type who refuses to be tamed, who uses her obvious "gifts" to get what she wants, who's easily bored and distracted, and a slave to her whims. To Antoine, she is an incorrigible wanton; he has no faith that she'll change. But Antoine has his way with her (He figures it's what she wants, and it is), abuses her, and tries to wise up his younger brother (Jean-Louis Trintignant) who had married her. By chic, I mean Vadim always knew how to cast attractive people in his movies. Bardot isn't the only "hotty" here; Marquand matches her heat, watt for watt, and with less effort. There's a jazzy hipness to their look for which few directors besides Vadim had a talent. Still, when Juliette is rejected and runs back to her trusting husband, the movie fades from memory, and the last shot in the picture (of the street where she lives) recalls the landscapes Cezanne abstracted into modern art oblivion.
Review of ...And God Created Woman
