Le Divorce

Riviste (in Tedesco): "''Le Divorce,'' Diane Johnson's 1997 novel, was full of pithy, effervescent ì
writing, principally on differences -- among the sexes, the cultures, and the ì
branches of the family tree. The director, James Ivory, his producer, Ismail ì
Merchant, and their screenwriter, Ruth Prawer Jhabvala, have mercifully ì
retained most of the book's shimmering qualities.

It's not always the most ideal fit, however. For some reason Jhabvala (who ì
adapted the book with Ivory) omits many of Johnson's sublime details, yet ì
retains the silly business involving the angry American husband of ì
Charles-Henri's Czech mistress. This introduces two cliches and one movie ì
mystery that no one associated with this production seems to know what to do ì
with: the Eiffel Tower, a loaded gun, and Matthew Modine.

The rest of the cast is splendid. The saintly Catherine Samie is Roxy's ì
concierge, and the folks playing shopkeepers and cops are divine. Hudson and ì
Watts, whose flat American accent just seems appropriately fatigued as ì
opposed to fake, are fantastic apart and better together. Thomas Lennon, as ì
the girls' uptight brother, makes a hilarious impression. But best of all is ì
Glenn Close as a renowned poet. She has rarely been more comforting and less ì
maniacal.

This present-day Paris of ''Le Divorce'' is smartly shot and costumed, and ì
the whole affair is breezy and uncharacteristically insouciant, given the ì
reserved nature of the folks responsible for it. At some point that Kelly bag ì
goes flying over the city like the Red Balloon, and I swear you can spot ì
Merchant, Ivory, and Jhabvala sailing above the rooftops, too." (The Boston ì
Globe)

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