Click to read the article
Under the Sand (2001)
Tomatometer
How does the Tomatometer work ![]()
Reviews Counted:69
Fresh:65
Rotten:4
Average Rating:7.5/10
Consensus: Rampling carries the film with her finely nuanced performance of a woman coping with her husband's death.
Theatrical Release:May 4, 2001 Limited
Synopsis: Francois Ozon's haunting UNDER THE SAND stars the remarkable British actress Charlotte Rampling, who plays Marie Drillon: a strong, attractive, professional, independent middle-aged woman trying to... Francois Ozon's haunting UNDER THE SAND stars the remarkable British actress Charlotte Rampling, who plays Marie Drillon: a strong, attractive, professional, independent middle-aged woman trying to get her life back on track after the sudden disappearance of her husband. Even for a superwoman like Marie, the shock of the tragedy is psychologically traumatizing. Marie isn't sure what happened to her husband (Is he dead? Did he run off with someone else?) and she's in denial about him being gone. At Parisian dinner parties with her supportive, careful friends, Marie still talks about her husband in the present tense. At home, she still imagines that he is with her; she pours two cups of tea in the morning and she reminds him to set the alarm clock before going to sleep at night. At the university where she teaches English, she reads to her students from the melancholy book THE WAVES by Virginia Woolf. Through all of this, Ozon's camera caresses Marie and encourages her, always casting her in cold, confident light. Using film language such as the repeated double reflection of Marie's face in the mirror, audiences come to understand Marie's innermost thoughts and feelings. She is a woman confronting herself (her identity, her age, her body, her sexuality, her emotions, her intellect) with brutal honesty. UNDER THE SAND is beautiful, sad, languorous film that includes some unforgettable images of the rolling ocean waves near Marie's beach house in Landes, France. [More]
Starring: Charlotte Rampling, Bruno Cremer, Jacques Nolot, Alexandra Stewart
Starring: Charlotte Rampling, Bruno Cremer, Jacques Nolot, Alexandra Stewart, Pierre Vernier, Andree Tainsey
Director: Francois Ozon
Director: Francois Ozon
Screenwriter: Marina De Van, Marcia Romano, Emmanuelle Bernheim, Francois Ozon
Composer: Philippe Rombi
Studio: Winstar
Get This Movie
Reviews for Under the Sand
Quando o filme chega ao fim, podemos até não saber muito mais sobre o desaparecimento de Jean, mas certamente nos aprofundamos na complexa psiqué de sua esposa.
A measured yet deeply enthralling character study of loss and loyalty.
A stately and reticent portrait of arrived-at bereavement... and the capacity for self-delusion [anchored by] the beautiful and talented Rampling, enjoying her largest, most interesting role in some years.
The film takes you slowly and confidently to the labyrinth of denial that often accompanies horrific loss.
Charlotte Rampling is delightfully sincere and believable in her subtle performance.
| Tomatometer Percentage | Movie |
|---|---|
| 45% 45% | Ice Age: Dawn of the D… |
| 19% 19% | Transformers: Revenge … |
| 55% 55% | Orphan |
| 43% 43% | The Proposal |
| 26% 26% | Land of the Lost |
| Tomatometer Percentage | Movie |
|---|---|
| 98% 98% | Up |
| 88% 88% | Ballast |
| 67% 67% | The Merry Gentleman |
RT On Current TV
DIRECTV 358 | Comcast 107 | DISH Network 196 | More...
What’s Hot On RT
Other News
CloseSponsored Links
Around The Network
- Under the Sand at Rotten Tomatoes
- Under the Sand at AskMen
Fresh Links
Featured

Moviefone brings us 9 failed attempts at biographical films.

TIME reminisces on the 10 most iconic moments from the films of Cameron Crowe.

BuzzSugar wants to know which movies coming out this month you're most looking forward to.

The AV Club takes a look back at Hedwig and the Angry Inch.



Top Critic



