Discreet charm of Sautet's bourgeoisie

"Nelly et Monsieur Arnaud", (PG), Screen on D'Olier Street

It may get on your nerves, all that French restraint, emotional complexity and impeccable taste, but you've got to admit that few people do it as well as Claude Sautet. With over 40 years' experience, each of this director's successive renderings of the discreet charm of the bourgeoisie is more economical and assured.

The relationship between the 25 year old Nelly (Emmanuelle Beart), who is supporting an apathetic husband and trying to make ends meet, and M. Arnaud (Michel Serrault), a retired judge and businessman in his 70s, begins with his offer of money to help her out and becomes a working arrangement.

Arnaud takes Nelly on as his secretary and amanuensis, polishing his memoirs for publication, at a leisurely pace. Along the way, built up in scenes of delicate ambiguity, an intimate friendship develops which becomes increasingly valuable to both of them. These two central performances are so fine, with Scrrault displaying a cool, self deprecating sense of comedy, that they almost eclipse other smaller, but no less engaging roles Charles Berling as Nelly's ex-husband, Claire Nadeau as her worldly older friend, Jacqueline, and Jean Hugues Anglade as Arnaud's publisher Vincent, who becomes Nelly's lover.

Pace and mood are carefully modulated here, yet there is still room for surprise and reversal. Sautet tends to avoid the obvious, so, while we see no establishing shots of Paris, a series of reverse angle shots, close ups of cafe interiors and tracking shots on the street capture the locale. As in his last film, Un Coeur En Hiver, Sautet is probing the fear and insecurity that the sudden, unexpected flowering of love evokes in people who have left no room in their lives for emotional engagement.

"Primal Fear" (18s) Savoy, Omniplex, Santry

It's strange the way this irrelevantly titled film keeps insisting on the formidable legal acumen of the defence attorney, Martin Vail (Richard Gere), although he's always a few steps behind audiences forensically trained by the OJ Simpson coverage, and a lot dimmer than everyone else in the film. A debut feature by Gregory Hoblit, who has produced and directed episodes of NYPD Blue and Hill Street Blues, this courtroom drama cum thriller, set in Chicago, is strong on atmosphere but marred by a weak, wholly improbable script based on William Dichl's best seller, and an unconvincing central performance from Gere.

When a high profile archbishop is murdered and a naive, bewildered altar boy (Edward Norton) runs from the scene covered in blood his case is taken on by the opportunist Vail, a defence attorney who courts controversy. The case becomes a chance for Vail to try to settle old scores with his old boss (John Mahoney) in the prosecutor's office and with his former lover (Laura Linney) who is prosecuting the case, but he finds himself becoming convinced, despite himself, of his client's innocence.

Clerical sexual abuse, corruption and a multiple personality disorder are thrown into the mix, which becomes a commentary on the inadequacies of the judicial system, the venality of lawyers and just about everybody holding positions of power and the dangers of hubris. Hoblit's sense of drama and pacing ensure that it all remains watchable, but it lacks the tension and surprises that this genre requires. As for the final twist, only Richard Gere could have failed to see it waving at him.

"Bed Of Roses" (PG) Savoy, UCI, Omniplex

There's a moment in Bed Of Roses that should cause even the squashiest sentimentalist to squirm with embarrassment. When Miss Lonelyheart (Mary Stuart Masterson) goes out in search of her dewy eyed suitor (Christian Slater), she finds him attending a children's storybook reading at the local library. No, he isn't doing the reading, and no, none of the children are his he just likes to sit in and listen. This is a man whose inner child is so over developed he makes Michael Jackson look mature.

However, there's no accounting for taste, and Masterson falls head over heels for Slater, a widower who became a florist because he likes to bring joy into people's lives. Masterson herself is a workaholic investment banker who can't face up to her own dark family past. When she hears of the death of her stepfather, she breaks down in tears in her apartment, and is spotted from the street below by Slater, who apparently makes a habit of nocturnal strolls (with a little tweaking, this could easily be a stalker movie). He sets out to woo her by sending her vast amounts of flowers, a wily, cost effective strategy given his profession. The course of love doesn't run entirely smoothly, but it's not giving much away to reveal that all ends happily.

This is harmless stuff in a venerable tradition, and it seems mealy mouthed to carp too much, but Slater and Masterson are two of the more talented young stars around, and they deserve better than this witless, slightly creepy story, written and directed by firs timer Michael Goldenberg. However, it has to be admitted that the flowers are lovely.

"Spy Hard" (I2s), Ambassador, Omniplex, Santry

It took four screenwriters to concoct this script, which is always a bad sign. A spoof the spy movie genre that glories in its own puerile humour, bad taste and general excess, it is directed by Rick Friedberg, who is clearly a firm believer in repeating any gag that has the faintest possibility of eliciting a smile. When Agent WD40, Dick Steele (Leslie Nielson) is pulled out of retirement to take on an old adversary, he romps through a series of parodies of In The Line Of Fire, Speed, Pulp Fiction and Sister Act, accompanied by a Julia Roberts look alike, Nicolette Sheridan. What else? Oh, the director of the agency (Charles Durning) disguises himself as bits of furniture.

The next Film Base quiz will be held at 8 p.m. next Thursday night, May 30th, at Mother Red Caps, Christ Church Back Lane, Dublin 8. Michael Dwyer will be asking the questions, which have been set by Martin Mahon and Brenda Gannon. The entry fee for each team of four is £20. Advance booking is recommended. For further information, contact Film Base on (01) 679-6716.