Customer Reviews

The Proprietor (La Propriétaire) [Region 4]

5 star:		(0)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

In his book, The Films of Merchant Ivory, Robert Emmet Long says that The Proprietor is not a perfect film and details some of the blurring that distracts the viewer, particularly a rather quick metamorphosis by Sean Young's character.

He does however add that the film is likely to become a Moreau classic. I will agree with him, but want to add that this film seems to be such an achievement, a collaboration of so many talents, that the end product could not help but be rather wonderful.

Jeanne Moreau is pefectly cast as Adrienne Mark, the famed French-American novelist and I can quite easily see how the role was tailored around her inimitable voice and expressive face. The character seems wonderfully complete, perhaps because of the many individual talents involved in the project who seem to have done a wonderful job collaborating.

The rest of the film is equally wonderful. There is some breathtaking photography of Paris, several wonderful scenes of a French auction and a wonderful incorporation of Madeleine Castaing's apartment.

This film goes far beyond what Hollywood is capable of. It takes all of these wonderful elements and incorporates them (on a shoestring no less) into this film which is almost as much a painting, a collage perhaps, as it is a work of fiction.

This was a wonderful look at Paris, and the story, though disjointed at times, follows a theme of memories with ties to the present. Beautifully filmed, beautiful music, lovely costumes. Presented France and the French in a very true fashion. Worth watching if you love France as I do.

A perfectly awful film in the typical Merchant Ivory boring-but-stylish mode. But for the presence of the incomparable Jean Moreau and the stylish-ness of the interiors and exteriors (Madeleine Castaing's Paris apartment etc etc), it rates the two thumbs down category. As a comic relief,don't fast forward the scenes that include klutzy Sean Young (tripping about in spiked heels and mini-skirt)who in a truly forgettable scene is whisked away to the dance floor to perform a tango so clumsily executed as to cause Rudolph Valentino to turn over in his grave.Another low-point is the odious musical scene with her would-be lover played by Josh Hamilton. Then there's Nell Carter, hamming it up as the devoted servant. Did Jean-Marie Besset and George Trow, who wrote this trite, ridiculous screenplay,laugh all the way to the bank? This might be ok to watch on a lazy summer afternoon with a Campari and soda on hand. The combination will bring on a well-deserved siesta.

One of the worst movies ever. A sorry waste of time and film. The directing is trite, the performances are ridiculous and even the sets and costumes offer no redemption. Just awful. Outdone only by Merchant's other film "Cotton Mary". Really, the guy should stick to producing and let Ivory do the directing. I feel for the actors who participated in this farce and hope that they were able to pick up their careers after such an embarrassment.

This film was so bad that I could not stop watching it it - Iwanted to see what trite, overworked movie cliche would pop up next. I laughed my head off in the the scenes where I believe the intent was for the viewer to be sobbing his or her head off. The only excusable actor was Sean Young: we already know how truly terrible she is. But for the rest of the cast to come down to her level - shame on them.

This is currently tops on my list of movies I love to hate