Synopsis
Dorante, an impoverished young man, is taken on as a secretary by Araminte, a rich widow with whom he is secretly in love. The valet Dubois does all he can to get Araminte to fall in love with Dorante. Following his staging of Marivaux’s comedy at the Odéon theater, Luc Bondy turns the whole theater building into a film studio, placing his actors in the foyer, under the stage, in the kitchens, using the most unusual and unexpected spots to invent a new dynamic between theater and film.
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Cast
- Isabelle HuppertAmarite
- Louis GarrelDorante
- Bulle OgierMadame Argante
- Yves JacquesDubois
- Manon CombesMarton
- Bernard VerleyMonsieur Rémy
- Jean-Pierre MaloComte Dorimont
- Fred UlysseArlequin
- Sylvain LevitteGarçon Joaillier
- Georges FatnaLaquais John
Recommendations
- 67
Paste Magazine
Isabelle Huppert walks on screen in Luc Bondy’s False Confessions intent, it seems, on reminding audiences that she can do anything, including turn a modern adaptation of outdated theater tropes into near-vital product. - 63
RogerEbert.com
Huppert is still there plugging away in every scene. To the extent that False Confessions does intermittently succeed, it is due almost entirely to her efforts. - 50
Slant Magazine
The film is a trim farce with no blood flowing under its skin, as it’s all construction, setup, and payoff. - 50
Village Voice
In Luc Bondy’s largely inert False Confessions, the tedium is broken by the [Isabelle Huppert's] outfits, and by the way she moves in them. - 50
Los Angeles Times
Despite a few playful flourishes, filmmaker Luc Bondy’s experiment in artifice never takes flight. - 50
San Francisco Chronicle
False Confessions can be admired for its high style and distinct tone, but if you really want to enjoy it, you’ll have to force yourself. - 30
The New York Times
There is little to recommend here, even for Huppert completists who follow her anywhere. - 25
TheWrap
Unfortunately, to follow these characters around is to experience not great theater, nor rich cinema, nor architectural wonder, but rather the itch of the restless spectator.
