‘Sex & Mrs. X’ a Story of Seduction, Friendship

Can a respected journalist learn what it takes to get any man in the room?

That’s one of the key questions driving tonight’s “Sex & Mrs. X,” a modestly intriguing Lifetime character study that passes muster on the strength of good performances by Linda Hamilton and Jacqueline Bisset.

Hamilton, who can be tough (“The Terminator”) and tender (“Beauty and the Beast”), embodies both qualities as Joanna Scott, a veteran reporter with a shaky marriage. How shaky? After 10 years, her husband wants his “space.” And, oh yes, he’s seeing another woman.

Immersing herself in work, Joanna flies to Paris for an investigative piece on the renowned Madame Simone (Bisset), a perceptive French beauty who matches alluring young women with powerful aristocrats and industrialists.

Joanna, a seasoned cynic who consistently cuts to the chase, presumes this chic matchmaker is obsessed with sex and money. She even uses that unflattering four-letter word “pimp.” Ah, but the observant Simone promptly corrects any adverse assumptions: “I do not set up sex. I set up the dream . . . romance, companionship, devotion.” She also senses the unhappiness Joanna attempts to conceal.

What follows is a growing, albeit unlikely, friendship, one woman helping the other to learn the sly art of seduction, which includes a neat little trick with a wine glass guaranteed to grab a guy’s attention.

If any of this sounds far-fetched or formulaic, keep in mind that the likable teleplay by Elisa Bell, which also contrasts American and European attitudes toward women, was inspired by a true story and subsequent magazine article.

One indisputable asset is the ever-beguiling Bisset, who brings grace and intelligence to the sophisticated Simone, a role not unlike the aging courtesan she played in the 1998 film “Dangerous Beauty.” Under the serene direction of Arthur Allan Seidelman, she works well with Hamilton, who reveals an appealing vulnerability beneath a hard exterior as the wronged woman ultimately discovering the self-confidence within.

* “Sex & Mrs. X” can be seen tonight at 9 on Lifetime. It is rated TV 14-D (may be unsuitable for children under the age of 14, with a special advisory for suggestive dialogue).