User Reviews

I've tried to get my hands on and view every possible movie on DVD in which Monica Vitti is the star. She became famous from starring in Antonioni's films and became a sex symbol during her youthful days in cinema. She attempted to capitalize on her sex appeal with various movies particularly "Modesty Blaise" a sexy action film in the 007 vein.

The film starts off with a rather hokey plot setting up a woman and her boyfriend against one another regarding a multi-million dollar company. By our standards it's obvious no one could pull off the crime the film starts off with but hey it's just a movie.

Billed as a comedy on it's IMDb page I found it cover the gamut of emotions of a person betrayed heavily by a loved one. The film has playful aspects of a woman who is planning a revenge on her boyfriend a week when he returns back to Paris. She experiences an extravagant week handing out big tips to bellboys, buying expensive cars on a whim, and ordering elegant meals at fine upscale restaurants. The film captures the 60s in the mock band appearing in the movie dressed up in bell bottoms, shaggy haircuts, and shirts with fringe. Vitti appears in at least 8 different outfits with lush color and dresses that worn nowadays would still be impressive.

Along with the casual fun she participates in the film has a serious side. We find out within the first 15 minutes she plans to kill herself the day her boyfriend returns. She experiences an existential dilemma much like her famous Italian films and tries to regain a sense of self through the antics I previously mentioned and more.

I half expected a romantic comedy but I got a film that takes a look at someone on a downswing in life but gets a new outlook on life through deviant acts and healthy ones as well. Light hearted in her fun encounters. Tension filled in her darker moments. Much better than I ever expected.

The stylish, enigmatic, uniquely beautiful Monica Vitti (playing an unplayable character - there is no rhyme or reason to her actions), and a rare "inside view" of the Eiffel Tower, can only carry this excruciatingly pointless movie so far. I came very close to turning it off at several points, but I didn't; I stuck with it hoping it would eventually go somewhere - it does not. Amazingly enough, the script (which contains no story, no suspense, and no humor) was co-written by Paul Gegauff, a frequent Claude Chabrol collaborator (Chabrol himself has a 10-second cameo near the end). The film does boast a distinguished cast, but they all have seen better days in other films. 0.5 out of 4 stars.