Unforgivable

Interwoven Lives: A Complex And Satisfying French Character Piece
The great French film director Andre Techine (Wild Reeds, Rendez-vous, The Girl on the Train) takes us to Venice with his latest character piece "Unforgivable." Marketed as a romantic thriller, I wouldn't get too caught up in that classification. The film does, in fact, display elements of many different genres including that of romantic thriller. But if you go into "Unforgivable" expecting a pulse pounding adventure, you will likely be disappointed. Instead, this is an intricate drama that weaves a number of interrelated characters together in unexpected ways. I loved this movie! Why? At any given moment, I did not know where the story was headed. The movie covers a lot of ground from a number of different vantage points but still comes together as a whole in a very satisfying way. There's a blocked author, an emotionally distant realtor, a wayward daughter, a lesbian private detective, a volatile ex-con, and a aristocratic drug dealer. That's a lot of plot points and...

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The best thing about this film is the cinematography. There are some nice shots of Venice and surroundings. Other than that, there's nothing to like. The characters were unrealistic and unlikable. The plot is absurd. Don't bother.

3.5 Stars... French-Italian talk-movie with only a glimmer of drama
I was recently browsing the foreign movie section of my local library and stumbled upon this. I read the DVD jacket and when I saw that Carole Bouquet was one of the leading performers in this, I immediately picked it up.

"Unforgivable" (2011 release from France; 112 min.) brings the story of Francis (played by André Dussollier), a successful writer who is looking for a place to rent in Venice while looking for source material for his next novel. Francis meets Judith (playewd by Carole Bouquet), who runs a real estate agency in Venice. Francis immediately falls for her and eventually they get married and settle in. Alas, all the happiness in the world can't help Francis to get rid of his writer'e block. Meanwhile, Francis' daughter Alice comes to visit and then disappears mysteriously, causing great concern to Francis who ends up hiring Anna Maria, an old acquaintance of Judith, as private investigator. Last but not least (if you are still following me), there is...

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