| EROS + THANATOS = HYPNOS : Jacques Rivette's 'Love on the Ground' (1984) [3/10] |
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| Saturday, 13 May 2006 | |
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Insufferably pretentious claptrap from the ever-erratic Rivette - whose last three films have been the sublime Secret Defense (1998), the so-so Va Savoir (2001) and the tedious Histoire de Marie et Julien (2003). Love on the Ground, in which a pair of actresses (Jane Birkin as Emily, Geraldine Chaplin as Charlotte) become entangled in the machinations of mansion-dwelling playwright Paul (Andre Dussollier), is cut from similarly shoddy cloth as Marie et Julien. Or, to be more precise, both are prime examples of what we should perhaps refer to as les habits neufs de l'Empereur: Rivette's status as a giant of modern cinema affords him the license to pass off any old tat safe in the knowledge that at least some critics will fall over themselves to hail the complexity of his genius. Proceedings start on an agreeably deadpan-surreal note: a group of Parisians make their way to a certain apartment, where they form the 'audience' for a play. The audience members move between rooms, silently and discreetly observing the actors' antics. But while the form of this 'theatrical' experience is radical and innovative, the content proves rather more mundane: an old-school bedroom farce in which a hapless philanderer's infidelities are uncovered by his spouse. This dichotomy is a portent of what is to transpire in the main substance of Love on the Ground, which takes place in Paul's palatial, suburban, tree-encircled gaff. The louche dramatist wants Emily and Charlotte to live on the premises while they perform out his latest work, which is seemingly based on his own tangled love-life, and whose final act is in the process of being... It's when the 'action' moves to Paul's pad that the picture starts bogging down into pseudo-enigmatic tedium. References to literature and classical mythology abound: the two main characters (who are of indeterminate nationality) share names with Bronte sisters; in a nod to Dante Paul's assistant is named Virgil, his ex-wife Beatrice. After a decadent evening, an inebriated Charlotte embraces a statue of Eros in Paul's garden, which falls to the ground and breaks into pieces which she then solemnly buries (thus illustrating the French-language title). Identities are in constant flux, with the play-within-the-film's actors exchanging roles. Emily and Charlotte experience spooky premonitions which suggest that some violent denouement awaits them. Rivette - working from a script co-written with his regular collaborators Pascal Bonitzer, Marilu Parolini and Suzanne Schiffman - provides the pieces for a puzzle which may perhaps be assembled into an examination on the interface between art, artifice, reality, memory and the creative process. Or not: the picture is so leaden it's very hard to care much either way and heading for the exit becomes a very tempting response. The final straw (for this viewer) arrives in a typically clunky scene which takes place after Emily and Charlotte have fallen out - or is it their characters within the play who have experienced the schism? Fuming at her rival/enemy Charlotte, Emily seizes an egg between her palms and squeezes hard, sending a jet of yolk spurting over her face - a waste of food amid a picture which is, sadly, a waste of everybody's time. Neil Young 13th May, 2006 LOVE ON THE GROUND : [3/10] : L'amour par terre aka Love Laid Low : France 1984 : Jacques RIVETTE : 125 mins (approx) seen at National Film Theatre, London, (UK), 2nd May 2006 - walkout after 100 mins |
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