In "Confusion of Genders," Alain(Pascal Greggory) is a middle aged lawyer who is depressed on both a personal and a professional level. Despite having numerous trysts with members of both genders, he still feels lonely and worries about growing old alone. So, he proposes to his boss, Laurence(Nathalie Richard), who
accepts. Then, she gets pregnant. Complicating matters even further is Christophe(Cyrille Thouvenin), brother to Marlene(Marie Saint-Dizier), one of Alain's old hookups, who one night brings Alain home with him. Alain wants to take on an important case but Laurence demurs until a murder case comes their way. The client, Marc(Vincent Martinez), gets a life sentence. Alain feels so guilty that he agrees to act as a go-between in a wedding proposal from Marc to his girlfriend, Babette(Julie Gayet), a hair stylist. "Confusion of Genders" is an offbeat satire with an erotic edge. As well-acted and engaging as it is, it could have been even better if its staccato rhythm had been slowed down in a couple of places. The movie is about the pursuit of happiness where the best advice is to roll with the punches, as events may play out in totally unexpected and wonderful ways. For example, Alain's bout of self-loathing comes from life differing from the expectations he originally had, especially not fitting in as well as he would like. Part of that comes from the law not turning out to be the idealistic profession he once thought it was.
April 23, 2010
Top Critic
