Claire's KneeWhat is the greater allure? Acquiring what you know you can have, or pining for that which you cannot? For Jerôme Montcharvin (Jean-Claude Brialy), it is proven to be the latter when his professed disinterest in engaging in an affair outside his engagement begins to disintegrate following his impromptu meeting with the young girl, Claire (Laurence de Monaghan). Before long the vacationing diplomat finds his thoughts turned to her beauty, confessing his feelings to his confidant and facilitator in his unusual test of virtue, Aurora (Aurora Cornu), a friend and author ostensibly writing a story on his experiences on the eve of his marriage.
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As the fifth entry in filmmaker Éric Rohmer's Six Moral Tales series of films, Claire's Knee arguably concerns itself with fidelity and love. And yet from the start, Jerôme seems to exude the qualities of a seducer. He is amiable enough, and maybe it's a French thing, but when he reunites with Aurora, his embrace of her is awfully intimate, and they converse as old lovers would. He speaks of his engagement to a woman he claims is an arrangement born out of a degree of convenience, but one which he purports is satisfactory to him. Even engaged, he talks freely of his prior loves, and just as it is with Aurora no doubt, we are apt to suspect there are unresolved emotions in Jerôme, who is not the great and subtle seducer he believes himself to be. Aurora slyly insinuates that she is writing a story--details mirror Jerôme--as she plants the seed for his temptation, one stirred by her following his introduction to the young girl, Laura (Béatrice Romand), daughter of Aurora's landlord. Just as it is with Aurora, the sense that Jerôme is already covertly lusting after Laura to some degree is reflected in the way that the camera seems to linger and stare at the young girl of sixteen years during conversations between her and Jerôme, just as it does later following Claire's introduction into the story. Jerôme claims to have no interest in seducing Laura, but entertains her company, appears to allow himself to follow Aurora's direction to fan her innocent flames of attraction, and even makes the first "move" in their flirtations. As they spend time together, Laura talks about definition of love, her wants and her insecurities. She claims she is attracted to older men, and she outright proclaims that this is due in part to missing a father figure in her life. Jerôme and Laura go through the motions of a friendship, and it becomes clear that Laura is not prepared for a romance with Jerôme following his initial promotion of the idea. Laura is a sweet and even pretty girl, but there is no real sense that Jerôme has even a passing attraction for her, and comes across more as humoring her and allowing himself to be an avatar for Aurora's little game. All of this changes for Jerôme when he sets eyes on Claire. Meeting her quite by accident, her introduction is ironically not unlike that of Sue Lyon in Stanley Kubrick's adaptation of Lolita; a rather beautiful, nubile teen, clad in a bikini. And as Jerôme explains to Aurora the end of the experiment, there is the persistent sense that he is trying to convince himself of its failing more than Aurora.
I believe that one's perspective dictates how one perceives Jerôme in Claire's Knee. Even on my first viewing, I could not escape the sense that Jerôme exuded a kind of sleazy quality, and what is effectively a wager to see if Jerôme has given up his philandering ways is an effort by Aurora partially born from a kind of vindication, an unspoken level of spite, perhaps from a past romance between him and her. Admittedly, a lot of this is inference, but there is a clear sense that Aurora and Jerôme have been close enough to discuss such a topic of the test of his fidelity with her in a candid fashion. And although not as extreme as the loathsome protagonist of Vladimir Nabokov's novel, "Lolita", Jerôme is literally old enough to be Laura and Claire's father, and they are quite young at sixteen years; nevertheless, the prospect of a sexual encounter is somehow never fully removed from the table. Jerôme talks of how he is attracted to Claire's body, but focuses his lust on her knee after observing her boyfriend, Gilles (Gérard Falconetti), caressing her knee, believing it to be what he describes as a "weak point" on her. This obsession grows in intensity, and leads him to consider Gilles an unsuitable mate for Claire, looking for reasons to cast him down when given the opportunity, making him appear even oppressive at times. Jerôme's passions have already been stirred following his fleeting attraction with Laura, but when she starts spending time with her male friend, Vincent (Fabrice Luchini), it seems to make Jerôme more jealous than he would let on, and all of these feelings swell in Claire. In effect, Claire represents one more kind of trial and/or conquest for Jerôme. He spies on Gilles, and when he is armed with dirt on the boy, he maneuvers Claire into a position where she is incapable of escape, and reveals his evidence. He doesn't do this out of a benevolent desire to see Claire with a better man, but because he can capitalize on the opportunity, exploiting her. He does not ravish her, but somehow his hand on her knee is predatory and creepy, and a revealing moment for Jerôme. He claims his feelings have been sated--and maybe they have--but can Jerôme truly be trusted? As mentioned, I believe that perspective dictates how one perceives Jerôme here. Perhaps it's simply as he describes it, that this is a fleeting stir of the heart, and it is as innocent as it appears. But then that's what seducers count on us believing, isn't it?
Recommended for: Fans of a subtle drama about romance and seduction, which is neither overt nor graphic, yet feels somewhat risque and even tense at times. It is a smart and realistic tale, with genuine characters, gorgeously lit environs, and a log of events which feel a bit like a summer time journal put to film.
I believe that one's perspective dictates how one perceives Jerôme in Claire's Knee. Even on my first viewing, I could not escape the sense that Jerôme exuded a kind of sleazy quality, and what is effectively a wager to see if Jerôme has given up his philandering ways is an effort by Aurora partially born from a kind of vindication, an unspoken level of spite, perhaps from a past romance between him and her. Admittedly, a lot of this is inference, but there is a clear sense that Aurora and Jerôme have been close enough to discuss such a topic of the test of his fidelity with her in a candid fashion. And although not as extreme as the loathsome protagonist of Vladimir Nabokov's novel, "Lolita", Jerôme is literally old enough to be Laura and Claire's father, and they are quite young at sixteen years; nevertheless, the prospect of a sexual encounter is somehow never fully removed from the table. Jerôme talks of how he is attracted to Claire's body, but focuses his lust on her knee after observing her boyfriend, Gilles (Gérard Falconetti), caressing her knee, believing it to be what he describes as a "weak point" on her. This obsession grows in intensity, and leads him to consider Gilles an unsuitable mate for Claire, looking for reasons to cast him down when given the opportunity, making him appear even oppressive at times. Jerôme's passions have already been stirred following his fleeting attraction with Laura, but when she starts spending time with her male friend, Vincent (Fabrice Luchini), it seems to make Jerôme more jealous than he would let on, and all of these feelings swell in Claire. In effect, Claire represents one more kind of trial and/or conquest for Jerôme. He spies on Gilles, and when he is armed with dirt on the boy, he maneuvers Claire into a position where she is incapable of escape, and reveals his evidence. He doesn't do this out of a benevolent desire to see Claire with a better man, but because he can capitalize on the opportunity, exploiting her. He does not ravish her, but somehow his hand on her knee is predatory and creepy, and a revealing moment for Jerôme. He claims his feelings have been sated--and maybe they have--but can Jerôme truly be trusted? As mentioned, I believe that perspective dictates how one perceives Jerôme here. Perhaps it's simply as he describes it, that this is a fleeting stir of the heart, and it is as innocent as it appears. But then that's what seducers count on us believing, isn't it?
Recommended for: Fans of a subtle drama about romance and seduction, which is neither overt nor graphic, yet feels somewhat risque and even tense at times. It is a smart and realistic tale, with genuine characters, gorgeously lit environs, and a log of events which feel a bit like a summer time journal put to film.