Kate Hudson (Almost Famous) lights up the screen as Isabel, a film school dropout who jets off to Paris when her pregant step-sister Roxy (Naomi Watts, Mulholland Drive) is abandoned by her husband. Soon, Isabel has a scan... more »dal of her own when she falls for an older man who's related to Roxy's cheating husband! Ths stylish romantic comedy by the acclaimed Merchant Ivory team (The Remains of the Day) features a top cast, including Stockard Channing, Glenn Close, Matthew Modine and Bebe Newirth.« less
Wish I could take back the thirty minutes wasted watching this movie.
Jerry S. from OCEANSIDE, CA Reviewed on 9/6/2014...
W0W! LOVED IT
0 of 1 member(s) found this review helpful.
Alice H. (singlegalkansas) from TOPEKA, KS Reviewed on 1/20/2009...
This movie was okay. It could have been so much better.
0 of 2 member(s) found this review helpful.
Movie Reviews
For French style lovers only
Carol H. | Switzerland | 11/16/2005
(4 out of 5 stars)
"If you are fond of linear plots in which one event leads to another and the whole leads to a more or less apparent conclusion, "Le divorce" is not likely to make much of an impression on you. It is not even one of those typical Merchant Ivory films which hark back nostalgically to Victorian England or the times of the Raj. "Le divorce" is something like a voyeur peep into the life of two families, one upper-crust French, the other high-brow American which are bound together by the couple whose marriage is drifting apart. The plot has not enough dramatic flair as to have been made into a film, if plot were the only thing to account for to define a film as a work of art, but it has plenty of charm if, like me, you are partial to Paris. For those who love French lifestyle the film will prove delicious: superb decors, shots in Café Flore, the understated stardom of a plush Hermès Kelly bag and Leslie Caron's appearance as the embodiment of French chic and cartesian rationale...all these will appeal to you. Glenn Close is also breathtaking as ever as the American writer who after years of living in Paris has impeccably assimilated the best of both cultures. This is not a film for a rainy day and less so for people who look for entertainment of jaded senses. This is a hedonistic film for the dilettanti, the bon-vivant, to be savoured slowly like a good vintage bordeaux."
Excellent
Karine Le Sage | 08/15/2004
(5 out of 5 stars)
"For those who do not understand French film making this movie may not be exciting but for those of us who understand this is an excellent movie that speaks to the way the French treat relationships and marriage. Some may think that it is misogynistic ---far from it though it is just a very real presentation of the French way of doing things that happens to include a few american girls whose inclusion brings cultural differences into sharp focus."
Beautiful to Look at, But Awfully Unfunny and Unpleasant
Tsuyoshi | Kyoto, Japan | 06/13/2004
(1 out of 5 stars)
"Excuse me if I sound too harsh, but I have to say this. James Ivory film was never so humorless and pointless as "Le Divorce," wasting everything and everyone who must have gathered here simply because of the name of the director. Sorry that I have to say so, but it was a painful experience to sit through the two hours watching this mess.The premise based on the bestselling novel of the same title is promising. Naomi Watts and Kate Hudson are American sisters. Naomi is married to a French, who turned out unfaithful at the beginning of the film, and we see him leaving the apartment in Paris, where Kate arrives at the exact moment when he ditches (when his wife is pregnant). Naomi's character Roxeanne refuses to divorce (for no other reason than ... well, we are not allowed to know), while Kate's sister Isabel falls in love with a guy (and husband), watching him in a show on TV.Now, it should be the time for hilarious culture-clash comedy, or at least some good romantic comedy against the backdrop of the beautiful city of Paris. And Naomi Watts and Kate Hudson can really act, as you know, plus you get delightful Stockard Channing as their mom flying all over from America. You also get Stephen Fry, Bebe Neuworth, Jean-Marc Barr, Leslie Caron, and even Glenn Close. And what happened? A mess. A real mess. Don't be mistaken, please. The photography is great, showing the charms of the city. And I do not particlulary disagree with the descriptions of the French. Well, they may not like talking about money; they do not care much about infidelty; no, no, I just don't know these things, but the film suggests so.The real problem is its characters, or the way the film shows them on the screen. In short, you can relate to none of them. French may act like this, but the problem is, THE FILM FAILS TO MAKE THEM CHARMING. It is quite unfunny to see a pregnant woman deserted unless the hubby in case has some redeeming quality. In "Le Divorce" there is none. And you see wrist-cutting; stalker, and murder. What do these things mean? Or see Kate Hudson. It is quite disheartening for us to see a grown-up American female (and played by Kate 'Penny Lane' Hudson') fall in love with a cardboard character, simply because he looks great and speaks French. And it seems that Kate thinks he is gorgeous (actually, he is not) and marvellous even after she knows that she is just one of many affairs. If this is a typical case of love in France, the film should be dealt with more delicate touch and convincing characters.The sub-plot about the painting is just as uninteresting as the main one, and the film, with so many great locations, adds up to nothing. It's all about the fantastic costumes and hairduts, but the they can hardly cover up the fact that "Le Divorce" is awfully empty and its values are quite dated. Avoid it."
Le Boring
Rosa Pauley | Berkeley Springs, West Virginia United States | 06/01/2004
(1 out of 5 stars)
"I won't speak for the book because I haven't read it, and I'm not French. If I was French, however, I imagine that I might feel insulted. The movie seems to scream at the viewer that the French are evil, gauche, and utterly frivolous, while Americans are victims, innocent and pure. While neither can be the case, it is ridiculous to taut such views. The characters in the movie as well as their interactions, comings and goings make no sense. No one has a reason for doing what they do or going where they go. Kate Hudson's character falls in love with two men that she barely knows and is in no way a support to her sister whose French husband mysteriously runs off with a Russian woman. The evil French husband then does all he can to be utterly unfair to poor Roxy (his wife). He wants to take her children, her family's painting, ie everything he can for reasons that the movie does not go into.What bothers me more than ridiculous people doing ridiculous things for ridiculous reasons is when movie writers have cardboard cutout people do ridiculous things for reasons that are kept hidden from us. From the scene where Kate Hudson gets a strange haircut for seemingly no reason, I simply lost interest in the story. Also, the writers were trying to elicit emotions where their wasn't sufficient development for there to be any. Examples were the murder of the cheating husband and his girlfriend, the selling of the painting, the suicide of Roxy, the mad gun battle on the Eiffel Tower, etc. Need I go on? Save your time and your money."
"Le Disaster"
Catlyn | Texas | 10/03/2004
(1 out of 5 stars)
"I picked up this movie at a store, read the jacket and noted the stars and production team. Then I watched it looking for "romance", "comedy", and a reason to care about the story and found none. I found the movie depressing--an irate husband shooting his adulterous wife and lover, an old philanderer luring and then leaving a young lady, and stuffy French family values. The sub-story about the painting just seemed added to waste time. I mean, who cares? I waited in vain for something to happen to tie everything together. And why would Isabel throw the gun off the Eiffel Tower? It was just wrong on so many levels. They had a cast with such potential, yet had the shallowest characters I have ever seen in a movie. The best writing was on the movie jacket. I would rate this movie no stars, if they gave me the option."