Andre Techine's film LES TEMPS QUI CHANGENT (CHANGING TIMES) has been marketed as a romantic comedy that brings Gerard Depardieu and Catherine Deneuve together again. He plays an architect who travels to Tangier for an assignment. It so happens that Deneuve, who plays the woman with whom he had an affair with 30 years prior, lives there with her husband and hosts a radio show. When they meet, she's not exactly happy to cross paths -- if anything, this is something that progressively upsets her. Adding to this, the appearance of subplots that are occurring around Deneuve's life: her son, Sami (Malik Zidi) shows up with his Moroccan wife Nadia (Lubna Azabal). She has a sister, Aicha (also Lubna Azabal) who wants nothing to do with her. Sami is also carrying on, unbeknown to Nadia, with a young Moroccan man. And Deneuve's husband has proclaimed he believes in variety instead of monogamy.
Here is where CHANGING TIMES fails: too many subplots detract from the main idea of the romance that would carry itself throughout the movie. None of these stories have anything to do with Deneuve and Depardieu other than provide filler, and a forced third act, where Depardieu gets caught in a construction accident (foreshadowed in the beginning; the movie is mainly an extended flashback leading to this crucial moment) is only an excuse to get Deneuve to step down from her temple of frigidity and become a human being. Now, if Depardieu had not acted in such a way that would seem increasingly creepy instead of endearing there would be a reason to expect some form of romantic resolution to this. Deneuve's ultimate resolve, once it comes, is so completely out of character (like the short wig she is wearing at the end) that it denies everything that has up to then been an okay drama and robs the movie of its credibility.
CHANGING TIMES is something of a misguided, misdirected mess that has some good moments and an intriguing premise but would have fared better had it not been sold as a romantic comedy. It's worth seeing if for its two leads, but other than that, it's rather forgettable.
Here is where CHANGING TIMES fails: too many subplots detract from the main idea of the romance that would carry itself throughout the movie. None of these stories have anything to do with Deneuve and Depardieu other than provide filler, and a forced third act, where Depardieu gets caught in a construction accident (foreshadowed in the beginning; the movie is mainly an extended flashback leading to this crucial moment) is only an excuse to get Deneuve to step down from her temple of frigidity and become a human being. Now, if Depardieu had not acted in such a way that would seem increasingly creepy instead of endearing there would be a reason to expect some form of romantic resolution to this. Deneuve's ultimate resolve, once it comes, is so completely out of character (like the short wig she is wearing at the end) that it denies everything that has up to then been an okay drama and robs the movie of its credibility.
CHANGING TIMES is something of a misguided, misdirected mess that has some good moments and an intriguing premise but would have fared better had it not been sold as a romantic comedy. It's worth seeing if for its two leads, but other than that, it's rather forgettable.