This disturbing film directed by Christian Vincent has one of Daniel Auteuil's best and most versatile performances. His 'partner', played with icy intensity by Isabelle Huppert, not only has a sadistic streak, but is wholly self-absorbed. She eyes Auteuil as he suffers because of her callous infidelity with the detachment of an abortionist crushing the head of an infant who has dared to scream after supposedly being 'disposed of' from the womb. Auteuil is at his wits' end, raging, cursing, hugging her, crying, discussing it helplessly with his friends, and the eye at the centre of the storm is the imperturbable Huppert, whose glassy stare and frozen visage are as relentless as a harpy. One puzzle: why does Auteuil go around unshaven all the time looking like a vagabond? So does his best friend. Is this chic? Looks a mess to me! Maybe Huppert has given up on trying to persuade him to shave and hates having her face scratched? Although she is the kind of character who would have pulled the wings off flies as a child, Auteuil's charm does not wholly compensate for his defiantly scruffy appearance, and as a tidy gal, that must get up her nose. This gut-wrenching story of the destruction of a relationship is from a novel, and with a screenplay by the author Dan Franck, who wrote the brilliant 1998 book 'Bohemes' ('Bohemian Paris', Grove Press, New York, 2001), perhaps the best survey of the Montmartre and Montparnasse days ever written. Let's hope it is not autobiographical, as if so, he must still be suffering. However, the detail is so precise, I fear it might all be true. There is a fine performance also by Laurent Lerel, as an au pair girl who loves Autueil from afar, and wishes to comfort him in his distress, but he never notices her. What a sad, sad tale.

This is just one more example of why French cinema is the best in the world. No real story, no suspense, no sex, no violence BUT! also no cgi, no slasher movie #24, no Hollywood Formula - The Sequel. In short just two of the finest actors on the planet running with a situation in which virtually out of the blue the wife tells the husband she is in love with another man. It's never that quite out of the blue of course and one of the strengths of this movie is the writing on the wall which is in turn projected onto the screen; the smallest hairline fractures in what, on the surface, is a perfect marriage complete with child. Juliette Binoche is a fine actress, no question, but it is virtually impossible to picture anyone other than Isabelle Huppert in the role of Anne and the same applies to Daniel Auteuil as Pierre, each of them fully inhabits the role in which they have been cast and although there is outstanding support from Jerome Deschamps and Karin Viard it is really superfluous. One of the finest films of the 90s, not just from France but from anywhere but it helps if you go to movies to check out the Human Condition rather than to spray popcorn at each other.

When we first meet Anne and Pierre, they seem to be a normal couple. They are dining out with their friends Victor and Claire. The first thing that raises our guard is when we see Pierre caressing Anne's hand at the cinema where they are watching a film. Anne, seems unduly irritated, for a woman that is happily married, when she takes her hand away. Later on, when Pierre meets Anne for lunch, her face reveals she is not physically in the restaurant with her husband; her mind is someplace else.This tightly knitted film, directed by Christopher Vincent, who collaborated on the screen play with novelist Dan Franck, is a visual feast for lovers of the French cinema, as two of the best actors are paired to get inside the couple at the center of the story.It doesn't feel strange that Anne confesses to Pierre that she has fallen in love with someone else. Anne is a woman that seems distant, even with her young son, Loulou, an eighteen months toddler, who must have arrived late in her life. At the same time, she gives the impression that she doesn't hate Pierre. In fact, after confessing to having another love interest, she cuddles in bed with Pierre.Pierre, on the other hand, can't believe Anne could have betrayed him. He is a devoted husband and a loving father to his young son, who is the center of his life. Pierre realizes he will lose custody of Loulou because the French laws favor the mother as the natural custodian. The real surprise comes toward the end, when everything seems lost for Pierre. Anne confesses she has ended the liaison with this mystery man for good. That confession makes us wonder if there was ever such a person. Was Anne testing Pierre's love, or was she suffering boredom from a too normal life and wanted to add a spark to it? We never get to the answer, which will be different for many viewers.The best achievement of this film is the superb acting Mr. Vincent got from his two stars. Isabelle Huppert is an enigmatic Anne. We never know where she is at any given time. In contrast, Daniel Auteuil's Pierre makes us feel the pain that has been inflicted in his heart by Anne's admission of another man in her life. Both actors give wonderful performances, guided by the director.This film is painful to watch because of the raw intensity of what we see on the screen.

La Separation makes you realize the value of true acting ability. Danilel Auteuil & Isabelle Huppert give a masterclass. I never thought that I'd be glad Juliette Binoche didn't turn up for work. The story has all the makings of a soap opera, but the thing that lifts this film is the simply marvelous acting. In other hands I think this movie would slip quietly onto the French equivalent of the Lifetime channel. There are no silences. In this movie one look speaks a thousand words. I struggle to think of any other movie where I have been so entranced by the pure acting of the male and female leads. More emotionally draining than Casablanca. This is a real weepy. Why? Because the acting makes you live the pain.