3 Hearts

3 Hearts

In life, a small number of people might be referred to as true diehard romantic. However, in the darkened movie halls, all is different: Most viewers serve romance willingly or not. This happens because films especially those revolving around romantic relationships can take one to dreamland. We want the spell to work, the charm to cast its magic so that our hopes are vindicated in imagination even if they’re not in life.

French filmmakers have a way of exploiting this sentimental wishfulness and are so remarkably eager to tackle matters concerning ordinary adults’ emotional problems that one may be tempted to embrace some plot devices in their works, which would seem laughable if used by other directors.

Thus it goes with the play “Three Hearts” by Benoit Jacquot where two sisters fall in love with one guy but don’t end up happy, leaving us unsatisfied at last. The film opens with a classic meet cute: Marc (Benoît Poelvoorde), a tax attorney who misses his train back home from Paris for one night while he is still far away from his destination; so he comes into any bar around and suddenly sees Sylvie (Charlotte Gainsbourg), an attractive thin brunette. After she leaves Marc follows her on the street and engages her into a conversation which ends up being serious enough for both of them since they plan to meet after few days in Paris despite the fact that she is married

What’s strange about this scene is how much out of sync these two characters really are; While Gainsborough is by far among France’s most beautiful and magnetic actresses., Poelvoorde could be easily mistaken for just another middle aged man apart from him having no hair left on his head excepting the bald scalp covered in hair at its sides.he has spent most of his time on screen looking down at his shoes or past them down towards other peoples feet. Thus he would be attracted to her but not vice versa. (In order to exclude gender bias, a lady friend was asked by the reviewer how she felt about Marc as they were leaving the theater. She made a disdainful face and called him “a schlub”).

Shall we stop watching this movie now because it’s no longer believable? Not even close. The attraction of romance is so strong in films like these that many of us are still willing to go along with Jacquot and see if he can pull off the spell for real. He may just be taunting us, daring us to leave by making the situation rather ridiculous, even compared to any other film in this genre.

As a writer-director, Benoit Jacquot has openly confessed his love for classical American romantic melodramas such as Leo McCarey’s “An Affair to Remember,” therefore it shouldn’t surprise you that the planned meeting between Marc and Sylvie never materializes he is driving over there when he gets a heart attack while she is alone and disappointed in Jardin de Tulieres.

This short chapter of the story functions as a prologue. The main action does not begin until sometime later and Sylvie has moved to Canada with her husband but keeps in touch with her sister, Sophie, who is an antique dealer in their hometown and often visits her mother’s house. Guess what happens next? One day Marc is conducting his business when he meets Sophie and feels the same kind of chemistry that was between them earlier on. Highly smitten by him, Sophie leaves her man who like Sylvie’s spouse is much better looking than a tax lawyer and marries him.

The following part of the story suggests a question will the three major characters uncover their true relationships anytime soon? How would it affect relationships between sisters or their attitude to romantic partners? In keeping with all this, Jacquot takes time to develop the plot such as when Skype calls between Marc and Sylvie narrowly fail to reveal each other’s faces, or when Sylvie planned return home gets postponed.

Can there be an outcome justifying all these hard works put into misconstructions described above? It could be possible but only if we are convinced that these individuals exist and care for them. However, it does not happen here. As stated before, attraction of both sisters towards ordinary Marc doesn’t look realistic since inception and never gets any closer to veracity throughout the film.

Even more problematic is that no side of this love triangle possesses strength enough for viewers’ sympathy. Shall we wish Sophie and Marc well in their comfortable country life or do we want Sylvie to come back and destroy everything? And if one woman should triumph over her sister is it because she is more beautiful than her competitor at least as actresses are concerned? This kind of thought must be avoided by any wise director.

Jacquot is known for writing good roles for women actors sometimes coaxing great performances from them. The best thing about this movie though is the fabulous shades Gainsbourg gives to her role, as well as being very sexy and alluring. Mastroianni on the other hand seems less complex, less interesting and her mother in real life is given a relatively small part as a fictional mother; but who cares she’s Catherine Deneuve, who can do more with an upturned eyebrow than most actors can with a fit of rage.

It is regrettable that Jacquot fails to give them enough work worth our attention. However, “Three Hearts” this could be the title of some kind of a film by D.W. Griffith turns out to be one of those movies which build love hopes only to thrash them against the wall, thus falling under its own weight due to unreasonable absurdities.

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