He plays Bertrand, a smooth, powerful defense attorney, confident and well-known, who is hired for a difficult case. The millionaire widow Edith Lasalle Stephane Audran is on trial for murder in Monaco, charged with killing a reputed member of the Russian mafia, and she refuses to utter a single word in her own defense. From the day he arrives in Monaco, Bertrand finds himself shadowed constantly by Zem Christophe Abadi , behind sunglasses, a tall, dark young man in a black suit and tie.
This odd couple works because its members are so different. Bertrand is not tall, not handsome, very busy, suave. Zem is tall, handsome, formal and distant. No attempt is made to supply them with banter. They are both focused on doing their jobs. She sees Bertrand as her meal ticket to get a better television job and wants to do an exclusive feature about the famous man down from Paris.
Audrey, young and sexy, means trouble. Bertrand can see that. Yet when she claims to be in love with him — that they were destined for each other — he goes along, no doubt because her explorations in his bed discover uncharted lands. Audrey is known to Zem, and indeed perhaps to many of the men in Monaco. An interesting dynamic takes place. Meanwhile, the murder trial marches ahead, and some of the Russians make an appearance.
The director and co-writer, Anne Fontaine , makes no attempt to make this situation cute or sitcom-like. As Billy Wilder did with Lemmon, she makes Bertrand an everyman, wearied, fearful, not getting any younger, who like all men finds it plausible that a beautiful younger woman would fall for him. It is about its characters, not its stars. It assumes an audience that appreciates complex motivations and an adult situation.
Roger Ebert was the film critic of the Chicago Sun-Times from until his death in In , he won the Pulitzer Prize for distinguished criticism. Fabrice Luchini as Bertrand Beauvois. Christophe Abadi as Roschdy Zem. Louise Bourgoin as Audrey Varela. Reviews Why shouldn't this sexpot find an old fart like me irresistible? Roger Ebert July 01, The bodyguard, the weathergirl, and the very famous attorney.
