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Released by: Severin Films
Released on: Apruil 28, 2009
Director: Patrice Leconte
Cast: Jean Rochefort, Anna Galiena
Year: 2009
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The Movie:
Patrice Leconte's The Hairdresser's Husband follows a young boy named Antoine who falls in love with the woman who cuts his hair. When he grows older (and is played by Jean Rochefort), he's still got a thing for hairdressers and he winds up meeting the beautiful Mathilde (Anna Galiena) and the two develop a rather odd relationship together.
This deceptively simple love story weaves scenes of sensuality in with some effective comedy and well played drama making for an interesting film that comes close to the line of stereotypical arthouse pretension without ever actually crossing it. What we wind up with is a beautifully shot film, a truly gorgeous looking picture that manages to hold your attention even if it's difficult to explain exactly why that is. Anna Galiena as Mathilde is strikingly beautiful and shot in such a loving manner that it's hard not to fall for her along with Antoine, who truly does know he loves her the very instant that he sees her.
The film makes some interesting nods towards Antoine's odd quirk, call it a fetish if you will, but he's never played as a pervert so much as he is a nice man with specific tastes. You have to wonder if Mathilde is someone he willed into existence to satisfy his needs, as he states when he's a child that what he wants to be when he grows up is a hairdresser's husband, a bizarre choice for a man to make, let alone a pre-pubescent boy.
Anna is a total catch - not only is she beautiful but she's a successful businesswoman who leads a good life and appears to be completely unattached. This contrasts with Antoine, who appears to be noticeably older than Mathilde. He doesn't appear to have a job of his own even if he is always neatly kept and must have some way of supporting himself. The whole film unfolds in this manner and it's very much a sexualized fairy tale played out for us.
Rochefort and Galiena are perfect together in this film. They have a natural chemistry that makes things much more interesting and believable than they would have been otherwise, particularly when you consider the rather thin plot, and it's hard not to hope they'll make a good go of it even if their relationship is in many ways quite unorthodox. The pair use body language and facial expressions as often, if not more so, as they use dialogue to portray what their respective characters are feeling throughout the movie and this works well in the fairytale context of the movie. Leconte's use of close up shots accentuates their skills in this type of acting, allowing them to emote and show range without even really saying anything.
The film, which actually had a decent theatrical run in the United States, was released on Laserdisc by Paramount Films and on VHS as well. It's seen a few European DVD releases from the likes of the UK's Second Sight and France's DVDY Films but this Severin DVD marks the first official North American release for the format.
Video/Audio/Extras:
The film looks excellent in this 2.35.1 anamorphic widescreen transfer that presents the film in its original aspect ratio. There's a bit of grain here and there but aside from that this is a very clean and colorful presentation that shows plenty of detail in the foreground and the background of the image. No problems with mpeg compression artifacts and color reproduction and skin tones look dead on. Some scenes are on the soft side but this is obviously how the film was shot, not an issue with the authoring or the transfer.
The French language Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo sound mix, which includes optional English subtitles, is fine, if unremarkable. Dialogue is a tiny bit flat in a couple of spots but aside from that things are decent enough and there's some nice bounce to Michael Nyman's score. Dialogue is clean and clear and there are no problems with hiss or distortion and generally the audio is free of problems.
The extras start off with an interesting interview with Patrice Leconte, entitled Leconte On Lecone Part 1 (36:13), who talks about the origins of the project and what it was like working with the various cast members on the film. Leconte comes across as a nice enough guy and he shares some interesting trivia here regarding this picture and some of his earlier efforts. This featurette does contain some spoilers, so be sure to watch it after the movie itself. This is a pretty extensive discussion that covers a good chunk of the man's career and lends some valuable insight into his creative process and some of the themes and ideas that his films explore.
Also included is an interview with actress Anna Galiena entitled The Hairdresser's Recollections (17:40). Anna talks quite frankly about her film career, noting her performance in the controversial Quiet Days In Clichy as a highlight and talking about her work with Leconte on this picture specifically. Galiena, still a very attractive woman now in her mid-fifties, is refreshingly frank and honest about her work in cinema and this is a nice companion piece to the Leconte interview.
Rounding out the extra features are the film's original theatrical trailer (1:22, anamorphic widescreen), some classy animated menus and a chapter selection option.
The Final Word:
A surprisingly pleasant fairy tale romance with some great comedy and gorgeous camerawork, The Hairdresser's Husband receives a very nice release from Severin.