Film Review: Romantic drama ‘3 Hearts’ trips over its tropes
French director Benoit Jacquot is best known for such period dramas as “Tosca” (2001), “Deep in the Woods” (2010) and “Farewell My Queen” (2012), but there are times he goes modern, and his new “3 Hearts” is one of them. Most of the central plot elements could just as easily flourish in a period setting, and they’re not spectacularly new: Boy meets girl; boy loses girl; boy finds another girl and marries her; then he finds the first girl again, when it’s too late. (It’s a bit like the first two of Richard Linklater’s “Before” trilogy.)
The closest thing to a twist is that the two women are sisters, and none of the three is at first aware of this dangerous triangle. Both “Dan in Real Life” (2007) and “Your Sister’s Sister” (2011) use similar devices. But those both were comedies — it’s the sort of set up that suggests farce at least as much as melodrama — and “3 Hearts” is anything but.
Benoit Poelvoorde plays Marc, a 47-year-old tax auditor whose life is basically his job. One night, after an appointment in a small town, he misses the last trains and busses back to Paris. While searching for a hotel, he strikes up a conversation with Sylvie (Charlotte Gainsbourg), a local woman, who is pondering her next move in life. They feel an instant connection and, without exchanging names, schedule a rendezvous a few days hence at the Tuileries Garden.
The chemistry is strong enough that Sylvie immediately breaks up with her longtime boyfriend, moves back in with Mama (Catherine Deneuve), and tells her sister Sophie (Chiara Mastroianni, Deneuve’s real life daughter) that it’s the real thing.
Of course, in the time-honored tradition of “An Affair to Remember,” Marc is prevented from keeping the date. The apparently rejected Sylvie goes off to America with her ex, and nobody is particularly happy.
Not too long thereafter — the film is frequently confusingly vague about the passage of time — Marc meets Sophie, they fall in love, and head toward marriage. It isn’t until very shortly before the wedding that Marc realizes who Sophie’s missing sister is.
The screenplay is far from perfect, which may be why an unexplained voice-over narration suddenly appears halfway through and jarringly crops up a couple more times. It’s in omniscient third person and tells us things that would have been better shown.
Though the subject matter is melodramatic, Jacquot keeps the visual style realistic; the contrast tends to prevent us from cutting loose emotionally and feeling the characters’ passions. This was surely a conscious stylistic decision, but a poor one.
The audio style is a different matter. Much of the film is accompanied by suspense music, which sounds very much like the heavy blat-and-thud chords used in “Inception.” Their ominous feeling seems excessive for a romance, but at least it provides a sense of urgency that is otherwise missing.
Most of what’s best is in the performances. Gainsbourg and Mastroianni both have terrific appeal on screen. And both always deliver. Gainsbourg, in particular, has amassed a rich variety of daring performances. As she frequently does, she plays the potentially wild one here, tomboyishly decked out in faded blue jeans and men’s shirts. Mastroianni’s delicate features make Sophie seem like the weaker, more sensitive one.
In the U.S., Belgian actor Poelvoorde is almost exclusively remembered for his first feature, “Man Bites Dog” (1992), a great faux documentary where he played a loquacious hit man. It’s nice to finally see him again in a substantial role, particularly one so very different.
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ANDY KLEIN is the film critic for Marquee. He can also be heard on “FilmWeek” on KPCC-FM (89.3).