Posted: 9/21/15 at 8:02am
I saw The New Girlfriend this weekend and think it would appeal to some people here. The story involves two female friends, Laura and Claire, who have been very close since childhood. They both age to early adulthood and get married. Laura becomes pregnant, but also very ill and dies before the child is six months old. Some time after the funeral Claire goes to check up on the widower David and baby Lucy only to find David dressed in Laura's old clothes, complete with wig and make up.
What follows is part noir-ish thriller, part Sirk lurid melodrama and part transgender coming out story. Occasionally David in a dress is played for laughs and in someone else's hands I might have found this regressive, but Ozon is just trying to add some fun to the proceeding, I think. If this were an American movie David would ONLY be played for laughs, but Ozon never makes him lose his dignity.
It's not as accomplished as some of his past works, but there's plenty of style and the score is strong. Worth seeing for the subject matter and if you were a fan of 8 Femmes, Potiche, etc.
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