As a student of irony it pleases me to imagine the two leading actresses - both beautiful in real life - competing on screen to see who could come across as the most plain of the two. They had no need to compete for acting honours for both are among the finest that French cinema has to offer and here both are at the the top of their considerable collective game. The director clearly has a penchant for bio-pics for it isn't all that long ago that he gave us Seraphine in which he coaxed yet another top-of-the-line performance from Yolande Moreau. Equally ironic is that supporting actor Olivier Gourmet, who has always had a strong facial resemblance to Eric Morecombe, does so more than ever, reminding English viewers of a beloved - and brilliant - English comedian in an exceptionally downbeat and sombre film. Though it's well over two hours of largely unrelieved doom and gloom it remains a superb portrait of two fine French writers in mid life. Highly recommended.
Review of Violette
