Kristin Scott Thomas is among the finest English actresses of her generation so it's too bad for us Brits that she prefers to live and work in France. Leaving is a sort of hybrid of Lady Chatterley's Lover and elements of Scott Thomas' own life; the plot has an upper-class woman falling in love with a handyman and if her doctor husband (Yvan Attal) is not physically crippled he is emotionally dead. Scott Thomas herself moved to France at nineteen, married a French gynaecologist with whom she had three children, divorced in 2005 and had a well documented affair with a younger layman. It is, of course, all in the wrist and in this case wrists plural, those on the arms of writer-director Corsini, Scott Thomas and the two men in her life, husband Yvan Attal and lover Sergi Lopez. Thomas is simply outstanding maintaining the standard she set in such recent French gems as Tell No One and I've Loved You So Long. Both men are accomplished actors and offer fine support despite knowing full well that it is Thomas' film. With luck she'll get the Cesar/Oscar she so richly deserves.
Review of Partir
