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Great visuals, story delivers no surprises

If the ambition is to provide two hours of instantly forgettable, popcorn-munching escapism, it succeeds.

A terrific literary drama and character piece that shows how the process of creating art can be seen differently by those doing it and those looking at it from the outside.

Through painfully honest and emotional moments, the movie becomes irresistibly relatable

When we first meet Anne and Pierre, they seem to be a normal couple. They are dining out with their friends Victor and Claire. The first thing that raises our guard is when we see Pierre caressing Anne's hand at the cinema where they are watching a film. Anne, seems unduly irritated, for a woman that is happily married, when she takes her hand away. Later on, when Pierre meets Anne for lunch, her face reveals she is not physically in the restaurant with her husband; her mind is someplace else.This tightly knitted film, directed by Christopher Vincent, who collaborated on the screen play with novelist Dan Franck, is a visual feast for lovers of the French cinema, as two of the best actors are paired to get inside the couple at the center of the story.It doesn't feel strange that Anne confesses to Pierre that she has fallen in love with someone else. Anne is a woman that seems distant, even with her young son, Loulou, an eighteen months toddler, who must have arrived late in her life. At the same time, she gives the impression that she doesn't hate Pierre. In fact, after confessing to having another love interest, she cuddles in bed with Pierre.Pierre, on the other hand, can't believe Anne could have betrayed him. He is a devoted husband and a loving father to his young son, who is the center of his life. Pierre realizes he will lose custody of Loulou because the French laws favor the mother as the natural custodian. The real surprise comes toward the end, when everything seems lost for Pierre. Anne confesses she has ended the liaison with this mystery man for good. That confession makes us wonder if there was ever such a person. Was Anne testing Pierre's love, or was she suffering boredom from a too normal life and wanted to add a spark to it? We never get to the answer, which will be different for many viewers.The best achievement of this film is the superb acting Mr. Vincent got from his two stars. Isabelle Huppert is an enigmatic Anne. We never know where she is at any given time. In contrast, Daniel Auteuil's Pierre makes us feel the pain that has been inflicted in his heart by Anne's admission of another man in her life. Both actors give wonderful performances, guided by the director.This film is painful to watch because of the raw intensity of what we see on the screen.

This was a pretty odd film in that there isn't a whole lot of context for what is occurring and there really isn't any resolution as well. Instead of the typical Hollywood-style film with a firm beginning, middle and end to wrap everything together, this movie is more like a slice taken out of a real couple's marriage--like the viewer is peering in through a keyhole just as a marriage is dissolving. You see the couple in crisis but why and how this all turns out isn't there. Now for some viewers, this will no doubt be maddening--they NEED this information to enjoy the film. However, if you suspend your need for this information and just watch, you'll see that the actors and writers really do a great job of exploring PEOPLE. This really doesn't look like actors acting, but looks like a reality show of sorts. Because of this, this is an exceptional movie technically and gives an unflinching view of heartbreak and loss.

I wouldn't be surprised if Huppert faked her affair with the mysterious "lover" just to solicit her husband's attention. At the end it seems as if she had "forgiven" him and tries to win him back to their home. Her interpretations often grab the audience by the throat, leaving spectators often in a state of mesmerizing suspense, and I am using the word "mesmerizing" because of her ability to seduce and own the viewers' eyes. She is a woman who has a way with men, she makes them believe what she wants, she makes them want her and agonize over her, over her insane requests and behavior throughout the movies she stars in.After seeing her in some of her movies, I feel comfortable saying that she could have been a good main character in Ozon's "Sous le Sable", where the role of the widow is played by a phenomenal Charlotte Rampling (remember when she runs on the beach at the end?).

Any person who has seen and loved Un coeur en hiver (The Heart in Winter) should see this film as well - it also stars the melancholic Daniel Auteuil. It's almost painful to see him laugh. A film that contrasts the bitterness of betrayal with the sweetness of intimacy, La Séparation delves into the anatomy of a break-up - the growing coolness, lack of concern, estrangement that can exist between two people who still are the primary characters in one another's stories. The couple is not married, but have a home, son, and life in common. Even as they discuss the thing that has come between them, the two cuddle; indeed, were the dialogue silenced for a moment or two, it would be easy to believe they were comforting each other. And indeed, they attempt to soothe each other even as they seem to rend their relationship beyond reconciliation. There is a great reluctance to separate, but is this because of love, comfort, or the fear of starting over? See this movie alone, and don't plan to go dancing afterwards. Buy a bottle of red wine on the way home from the theater (if you are fortunate enough to see it in one).