My Night at Maud's

Saw My Night at Maud's, a fairly intellectual French film from the 60s about a devout Catholic man who sleeps over at a divorced woman's (Maud's) house. This occurs within the context of a mini-crisis of faith the man is going through. Early in the film, he and a philosophy professor friend discuss Pascal's wager. This thought-experiment becomes a theme for the rest of the film. The protagonist doesn't like Pascal's argument because, he feels, it's too chilly and philosophical. Pascal, he notes was incapable of enjoying good food, a luxury, the protagonist feels, which God himself has given to man. But why then is he so shy about hopping into bed with the merry divorcée? She clearly is trying to seduce him, but he goes on about a pure and holy ideal woman whom he will someday find and marry. An opening sermon about the virgin Mary sets up this dual, Madonna/whore theme.

The film is extremely dry, dealing in its coy 60s way with one man's pseudo-betrayal of an imaginary woman. The philosophy professor friend, the protagonist, and Maud talk in rings around each other, saying things like "You really shock me" in a monotone and smoking. There's also a bit of retrograde gender relations going on, typical of the 60s. The philosophy professor praises the divorcée, saying she has none of the bourgeois clinginess so typical of women. Right okay buddy, so long as you have condoms, I guess. It's not too bad though, just typical.

I found this film very tiresome and dry. Perhaps I would have dug it more if I were more awake or cared more about this dude's moral dilemmas, or if I were younger and more willing to work to understand the inner lives of the characters. There's some great and subtle acting on display here, but I just couldn't get into it. Approach with caution.