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Fanny Ardant, Emmanuelle Béart, Gérard Depardieu, Judith Magre, Vladimir Yordanoff ... see more see more... , Rodolphe Pauly , Idit Cebula , Evelyne Dandry , Macha Polikarpova , Serge Boutleroff , Wladimir Yordanoff

A middle-aged woman fears that her husband is cheating on her -- and chooses a very unlikely method for verifying her paranoia -- in this psychological drama from the writer of Une Liaison Pornographi... read more read more...que. Catherine (Fanny Ardant) is a successful Parisian gynecologist whose long-term marriage to Bernard (Gérard Depardieu) has been passionless as of late. When she checks his cell phone messages one afternoon, she discovers a suggestive "thank you" from a young colleague of his, which creates an even wider chasm between the two. Desperate, Catherine goes to an upscale strip club nearby to solicit the services of Nathalie (Emmanuelle Béart), a matter-of-fact prostitute. It seems Catherine wants Nathalie to seduce Bernard and report back to her each week, an assignment that's initially off-putting to the young woman, but one she begins to relish as the weeks pass. Soon, Nathalie is using intimate details to fuel Catherine's rage toward her husband. Nathalie... had its gala North American premiere at the 2003 Toronto Film Festival. ~ Michael Hastings, Rovi

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50% liked it

2,589 ratings

Critics

73% liked it

22 critics

Unrated, 1 hr. 40 min.

Directed by: Anne Fontaine

Release Date: January 1, 2003

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DVD Release Date: May 2, 2006

Stats: 132 reviews

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Flixster Reviews (132)

  • groaningbitch
    July 15, 2010
    groaningbitch
    "nathalie" is the original french movie of "chloe" which gets released just few months ago in america. thus i have to watch "nathalie" to judge whether the remake is a pure parody or not. fortunately, the remake, in this case, isn't really inferior to the original at all. (i do g... read moreive the original a chance)...and i'm glad that hollywood producer hasn't run out of its ideas by completely copying the original, they create something totally different of their own.

    SPOILERS!

    whether it's nathalie or chloe, the basic structure of the plots is the same: a woman doctor suspects her husband cheating on her because he doesn't show up at his birthday party the wife has planned for months. and the paranoid wife hires a professional hooker to seduce the husband just to test his loyalty. the more details the hooker reveals about bedroom affairs, the closer these two women. eventually there's some undercurrent romantic passion developing to unite these two women as something approximately like lovers. then suddenly the wife discovers whatever the hooker has confided is a lie: her husband never even cheats...the wife falls in love all over again with the husband? so how's hooker? what shall she do?

    the difference between the original and the remake is: the former is a comedy; the latter is a tragedy. emmanuelle beart, who plays the hooker, seems to put on a defiant sass. she's absolutely confident and her purpose is to entice the wife into mischievous game which she enjoys more and more. as for the lesbianism element, i don't think french nathalie is lesbianistic at all! and it's more like some inneundo to suggest these two women have some tender chemistry mellowing into somehow ambiguous sisterhood. by comparison, the wife seems to take delight at the details of her husband's affairs with the hooker. and she even secretly mocks him by ordering the wine he hates (but the hooker loves) for him. like an esoteric code of intimacy between her and the hooker.

    as i was writing along a paper about comic catharsis, and nathalie fits the profile..let i quote one passage from my school paper:

    Comedy has to pamper its feast on imagination to the extent of ridicule, but it still has a sense of universality within the plots to induce its own comic catharsis from the audience, as Kitano emphasizes: "the ridiculous in comedy which contains a universal plot arouses in the audience the purified emotion of the same name that does not have the painful element of envy" (Kitano 7). In other words, comic catharsis is "purification of emotion from the envy" that is brought forth by the blend of pain and pleasure altogether, in the same time, it is also antithetical to tragedy, which seeks its mimetic catharsis of fear and pity, because "the kind of pleasure at which comedy aims, by contrast, is achieved if enemies are reconciled and nobody is killed by anybody"

    two crucial points would be: the purification of envy and the reconciliation between foes...so here's nathalie. the wife hires the hooker out of envy for husband's affair, and at last her envy dissolves and gets purified when she finds herself being made as a fool. but the ending has been resymbolized into order: she and her husband reconcile. and the hooker silently lets herself out of the wife's life with a gentle kiss on her cheek. comedy.

    "nathalie" is something light and mild to give you a pleasant witty smile. very subtly understated. (maybe because the director is a woman? french art-house chic flick?)

    but "chloe" is different case, and there's nothing resembling the original except the basic plots..
  • kiriyamakazou
    April 4, 2007
    kiriyamakazou
    A brilliantly sexy and mature film that tackles relationships. It delves into our chracters minds and their wants as well as examining trust and sensuality. Fantastic overall with perfect performances especially from the hypnotic Beart.
  • deano
    November 21, 2006
    deano
    Not a bad psychological mystery of sexuality. Emmanuelle Beart's hot like a naughty girl. I love arthouse films made in France.
  • gator681
    March 2, 2007
    gator681
    [font=Century Gothic]In "Nathalie", Bernard(Gerard Depardieu), a businessman, and Catherine(Fanny Ardant), a gynecologist, have been married for decades and have a grown son but their marriage has grown stale. They communicate little and have sex much less often. To make matters ... read moreworse, Bernard has been unfaithful. To make matters even worse, it was with more than one woman. Distressed, Catherine wanders into a brothel one night and hires one of the working women, Marlene(Emmanuelle Beart), to go undercover to see what her husband is thinking. [/font]

    [font=Century Gothic]Marlene makes contact but reports that she has exceeded her mandate by having sex with Bernard...[/font]


    [font=Century Gothic]"Nathalie" has an interesting idea that plays out well at first in a nicely erotic way, and does not thankfully become a cliched thriller. And it explores the notion that men and women need to communicate to each other but it misses a valuable chance to fully explore women's role in society. Also, the movie eventually turns plodding and the conclusion is most unsatisfying. Like Anne Fontaine's previous feature, "How I Killed My Father", the editing leaves something to be desired.(For example, why does it take so long to establish Catherine's profession?) The movie wastes a very fine cast and an excellent performance from Fanny Ardant as the wronged women. [/font]
  • BlueTorch
    May 10, 2008
    BlueTorch
    Talk about false advertising. Nothing sexy in the least; even the vivid sex scene descriptions are made to seem completely banal. And hey, look, another French film with a TWIST ENDING~! I saw it coming a mile away, my friend who watched it with me did not. Neither of us like... read mored the movie. Fanny Ardant completely mails this one in.
  • thirdway821
    November 22, 2011
    thirdway821
    I can see why Anne Fontaine wasn't happy when she made "Nathalie". The two lead stars seem to hold a certain distance when they're paired onscreen together, but that's not to say they're both actresses's (Fanny Ardant & Emmanuelle Béart) is bad because they're both equally good, ... read morebut when it is time for them come clean and express their relationship together, they seem to sort of lack interest and keep it at a mature friendship level.

    Nathalie is the name a Parisian prostitute assumes for a special mission or "private investigation." She is engaged in this unusual and secretive task by a professional, upper-middle-class wife who fears that her husband is unfaithful to her. Nathalie has to seduce the clueless husband and regularly report all details of her relationship with him, including his most intimate sexual preferences in bed. Nathalie is stunning, charming, and cunning...

    Atom Egoyan made a remake and well his version seems to be better and I think it's due to the fact that Egoyan doesn't hide anything between the relationship with his characters, they express more visually rather then mentally and everything is explained clearly towards the last drop of the picture.

    Fonatine's version is more mature and grounded. Catherine is attracted to Nathalie but the film won't let her express her attraction that could have been something more. The pace of the picture seemed to have dragged on and on with the same confessional affair story one after the other. Women might enjoy this picture rather then the remake due to the stimulating mental erotic talk and no gratuitous sex. If Catherine and Nathalie's relationship was a little bit more detailed then muddled, it would have left a different impression on me. I felt, I don't know, empty?
  • alanjayh
    March 11, 2010
    alanjayh
    was a big letdown for me..the acting performances by the three main characters were all fine, but the story moves slowly and really goes nowhere...for an erotic plotline its all talk, no action lol...you can afford to miss this one unless you are a big fan of Ms. Beart
  • TonyPolito
    August 14, 2010
    TonyPolito
    Despite many mediocre reviews, Emmanuelle Beart's top-tier talent/beauty, put to characterizing a savvy escort, makes this film a sure bet.

    Much has been made of the Act III 'twist' disappointing viewers since they're 'on to it' from almost the very start. But that's the direct... read moreor's intent; clues abound. It just juices up the central puzzle: what ARE wife Ardant and mistress Beart each getting out of their own ripening relationship?

    The answer is implied (as oft the case in French films) with the most subtle of nuances and omissions. Ardant hasn't hired Beart to be hubby's lover; Ardant says exactly that at Minute 26. Rather, she's hired Beart so they together can craft erotic verbal fantasies about Natalie, the fictitious lover Ardant's dreamt up for her husband. The Harlequin hot talk primes Ardant for HER romps-for-hire with Beart, where Ardant's pretending to take and control her husband's lover, replacing the husband's role with her own.

    For Ardant's REAL satisfaction comes from manipulation & control: last-minute changes-of-plan, turning her back cold, leaving others in the lurch, teasing withdrawn. And Ardant's gaming for plenty of head-game satisfaction off Beart's back. While Beart, whose profession it is to manipulate and deceive her partners regarding satisfaction while on HER back, gets well schooled by a true professional.

    [The Ardant/Beart trysts aren't shown/stated, but consider, for example, it's Beart/Ardant, not Beart/husband, wandering a well-tossed hotel room, with Beart showering then snuggling and sprawling with Ardant in bed, then dressing and leaving. All while the two are talking about how Nathalie & hubby "really" used the room.]

    Comic relief: calling husband Gerard Depardieu a hottie when he's more like an over-inflated Macy's Thanksgiving Day balloon. Hollywood's tramped-up, glammed-up re-hash is 2009's "Chloe."

    RECOMMENDATION: Sexual visuals are minimal, but it's still plenty erotic. And plenty intelligent. Well spent viewing.
  • hossein13
    August 17, 2009
    hossein13
    Jun 09 - Interesting story and interactions among the characters are also fascinating but does not get close to become a masterpiece.

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Critic Reviews

Andrew Sarris
April 28, 2006
Andrew Sarris, New York Observer

... the conceit works beautifully with the right personalities, talented and uninhibited, engaged in its execution.

James Berardinelli
April 14, 2006
James Berardinelli, ReelViews

Nathalie... offers compelling food for thought, with a little visual stimulation thrown in on the side. Full Review

Kyle Smith
April 14, 2006
Kyle Smith, New York Post

Beguiling and surprising.

Anita Gates
April 13, 2006
Anita Gates, New York Times

A woman (Fanny Ardant) hires a prostitute (Emmanuelle Béart) to seduce her unfaithful husband (Gérard Depardieu) in Anne Fontaine's seductive and intriguing film.

Ed Park
April 11, 2006
Ed Park, Village Voice

Nathalie is intricate, provocative, cleanly acted, but it's never entirely convincing -- and never more so than in the table-turning climax. Full Review

Stephen Cole
September 19, 2004
Stephen Cole, Globe and Mail

A stylish, sharply observed erotic mystery. Full Review

Chris Barsanti
April 23, 2006
Chris Barsanti, Filmcritic.com

well-mannered, though never dull Full Review

Maitland McDonagh
April 14, 2006
Maitland McDonagh, TV Guide's Movie Guide

Exceptional performances and the oh-so-Frenchness of the complications produce an erotic tale that plays like the best gossipy story you ever heard about people you thought you knew. Full Review

Kent Turner
April 13, 2006
Kent Turner, Film-Forward.com

Between the leonine Ardant, the streets of Paris, and the nearly hypnotic score by Michael Nyman, the sophisticated Nathalie oozes with elegance. Full Review

Harvey S. Karten
April 11, 2006
Harvey S. Karten, Compuserve

Talky, but with an interesting performance by Depardieu. Full Review

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