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How To Be A Good Wife Review

By Dave Griffiths @goodbaduglyshow · On January 25, 2021

The Gist

A group of winning running a Finishing School in France realise that the relevance of the school is fading as the Women’s Revolution begins.

The Review

I think one of the most disappointing things when you are a film lover is sitting down to watch a film only to find that it starts off with promise and then goes downhill rapidly. I can cope with a film that is bad from start to finish, but I get a strong sense of disappointment when I feel like I am enjoying a film until the wheels fall off and everything goes horribly wrong.

New French film How To Be A Good Wife sadly falls into the latter category. From director Martin Provost (Seraphine) the film should be a strong movie about the rise of women’s rights in France. But instead it becomes a promising film that three quarters of the way through forgets what genre it wants to be and completely loses its way. Yes, I know films can be absurd but this borders on ridiculous and loses the plot that previously was enchanting its audience.

Set in 1968 the film follows the staff of a French Finishing School were young women are sent to be trained to become ‘good wives.’ The school is run by Paulette Van der Beck (Juliette Binoche – The English Patient) while the finances are looked after by her much older husband, Robert (Francois Berleand – The Transporter). Also on staff are Robert’s kooky sister Gilberte (Yolande Moreau – Amelie) and Sister Marie-Therese (Noemie Lvovsky – Camille Rewinds) who tries to keep the moral compass with both students and staff.

After a tragic event though Paulette suddenly finds herself free from her marriage but at the same learns that the school and its relevance in the current society is casting doubt on the school’s future.

Early on I found the film worked. It worked because it gave us a broad prospective of what was happening. Despite her kookiness Gilberte is ready to embrace equal rights, the students are divided – some still want to learn to be a ‘good wife’ while others want to change with the society and have the power to explore their sexuality if they wish.

If the film had kept going in that way and allowed characters to explore what women’s rights meant for them this could have ended up becoming one of the most important and powerful films of this year. But somewhere along the line the director and screenwriter decided that turning the film into a comedic musical towards the finale would be a good idea. To me that lost all the power that the film had generated earlier and because of the inclusion of Marie-Therese in the musical numbers ended up looking like a lame parody of The Sound Of Music. A film about women’s right needs (and deserves) to be remembered for its strength and courage, not laughed at because the director tried to do something a ‘little different.’

Even with the film working the way it did early on this does feel like one of Binoche’s weaker performances. She is normally brilliant but here feels like she is just going through the motions whereas the ability to be able to mix comedy with dramatic scenes make Moreau and Lvovsky easily over-shadow her with their performances. In fact I was so impressed with Moreau portrayal of the strange but hurt Gilberte that as soon as I left the cinema I started scrolling through her filmography so I could watch more of her work.

The Verdict

Given the power of the story behind it How To B A Good Wife should be a film that we are talking about for Oscar contention this year, instead it is a film that I would rather forget and never re-visit.

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Related

How To Be A Good Wife Review
Dave Griffiths
January 25, 2021
2/10
2 Overall Score

Francois BerleandHow To Be A Good WifeJuliette BinocheNoemie LvovskyYolande Moreau
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Dave Griffiths

Dave Griffiths has worked as a journalist for over twenty years now -covering topics including film, television, music, travel and sport (with a main focus on AFL Football). That time has seen him host the popular X-Wired television program for seven seasons as well as write for various magazines such as Buzz Magazine, Heavy Mag, Stage Whispers, The Banner and Eternity.. He has even branched out into writing online for Subculture Entertainment, Media Search and The Book The Film The T-Shirt. He also worked as the online editor for Entertainment 360 for three years. Dave's radio work has seen him work on various radio stations including 3RPP, Triple R and Light FM. He is currently the resident film reviewer on Sydney's 2UE radio station and can be heard reviewing what is new at cinemas and on DVD each week on Wednesdays at 3pm with Ed Phillips. He is also the co-host of Melbourne's 94.1FM's breakfast show 'The Motley Crew' and he can sometimes be heard on J-Air's 'First On Film'. David is also the co-host of two popular podcasts - ‘The Good, The Bad, The Ugly Film Show,' and 'The Popcorn Conspiracy' As far as Film Reviewing goes David is an elected committee member of AFCA (Australian Film Critics Association and a member of IPRESCI (International Federation of Film Critics)/FIPRESCI (Fédération Internationale de la Presse Cinématographique). He has also served as a jury member for a number of international film festivals and is considered an expert on cult cinema, horror movies and Australian films.

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