''Chéri'' is a 2009 romantic comedy-drama film directed by

Stephen Frears Stephen Arthur Frears (born 20 June 1941) is an English director and producer of film and television often depicting real life stories as well as projects that explore social class through sharply drawn characters. He's received numerous accola ...

from a screenplay by Christopher Hampton, based on the 1920 novel of the same name by French author

Colette Sidonie-Gabrielle Colette (; 28 January 1873 – 3 August 1954), known mononymously as Colette, was a French author and woman of letters. She was also a mime, actress, and journalist. Colette is best known in the English-speaking world for her ...

. It stars Michelle Pfeiffer and

Rupert Friend Rupert William Anthony Friend (born 9 October 1981) is an English actor. He first gained recognition for his roles in '' The Libertine'' (2004) and '' Mrs. Palfrey at the Claremont'' (2005), both of which won him awards for best newcomer. He port ...

. The film premiered at the 2009 Berlin International Film Festival.

Plot

Set in 1900s Belle Époque Paris, ''Chéri'' tells the story of an affair between a wealthy, middle-aged retired

courtesan Courtesan, in modern usage, is a euphemism for a "kept" mistress or prostitute, particularly one with wealthy, powerful, or influential clients. The term historically referred to a courtier, a person who attended the court of a monarch or other ...

, Léa, and Fred, nicknamed Cheri ("Dear" or "Darling"), the

flamboyant Flamboyant (from ) is a form of late Gothic architecture that developed in Europe in the Late Middle Ages and Renaissance, from around 1375 to the mid-16th century. It is characterized by double curves forming flame-like shapes in the bar-tr ...

spoiled, neglected 19-year-old only son of another even wealthier courtesan. A famous beauty, Léa has been successful at extracting large sums of money from her up-scale clients, never falling in love with any of them. At first Léa takes Chéri off her "friend" (and former rival) Charlotte's hands as a favor, as his dissipated lifestyle is irritating to Charlotte and unhealthy for Chéri. Although Léa only plans on keeping Chéri around for a short while, their affair turns into a six-year relationship, in which Léa pays for Chéri's expenses, (although he has access to considerable wealth from his mother) and Chéri wears Léa's silk pajamas and pearls. Although they satisfy each other both sexually and emotionally, the two convince themselves that their affair is casual, but they are the only real friend the other has. Her status as a former prostitute and his as the son of one make them outsiders who can only be fully honest and relaxed together. Léa learns Chéri's mother has arranged for Chéri to marry the daughter of another courtesan, an innocent barely 18-year-old named Edmée, as Charlotte has decided she wants grandchildren, largely to make up for her years of neglecting Chéri. Although Chéri does not wish to marry Edmée, whom he finds boring, he has no choice in the matter, as he stands to inherit a huge fortune from Charlotte. Léa cheerfully kicks him out of her home, but makes Chéri promise to always be gentle and kind with Edmée, and to try to give her a good life. After Chéri agrees, the two part ways, both putting on an air of breezy unconcern, as much to convince themselves as the rest of the world that their affair had just been for amusement. Léa does not attend the wedding, and Chéri and Edmée leave for their honeymoon. It is only after Chéri is on the train to Italy for his honeymoon that both he and Léa realise they are in love with each other. Chéri consummates his marriage with Edmée, but their lovemaking is perfunctory, and even though Edmée is in love with her husband, Chéri can't summon any emotion for her. Léa visits Charlotte one last time before running off on vacation, making up a story in which she is involved with another suitor, when in fact the only man Léa beds while on vacation is a young bodybuilder whom she has no feelings for and regards as a one-night stand. Meanwhile, Edmée accuses Chéri of not caring about her, and says all he ever does is think of Léa, "that old woman". While out on the town with a friend, Chéri tries opium and

cocaine Cocaine (from , from , ultimately from Quechua: ''kúka'') is a central nervous system (CNS) stimulant mainly used recreationally for its euphoric effects. It is primarily obtained from the leaves of two Coca species native to South Ameri ...

, and on his way back he notices that Léa's apartment is no longer empty and she has returned home. Comforted by the fact that Léa has returned, Chéri runs home to Edmée where he makes love to her properly and kindly, thinking that he can now live in peace with Edmée, juggling both women. He sends Charlotte the next day to investigate Léa's homelife, whereupon Léa claims she is madly in love with her new "suitor", and Charlotte tells her that Chéri and Edmée are likewise madly in love and happier than ever. That night, jealous and wanting to confront Léa about her new suitor, Chéri breaks into her home and admits he loves her. They make love with all the pent up passion they have been suppressing for the sake of others, and plan on running away together. In the morning, however, Chéri notices the wrinkles on Léa's face in the harsh light of day, and she sees his doubt. She apologizes to Chéri for "ruining him" and making life too easy on him when they first began their affair. Léa tells Chéri to go back to Edmée, for their age difference would always prevent a true relationship blossoming between them. Tentatively, Chéri leaves as Léa watches, breathlessly hoping he will turn back. Both crestfallen and elated by a new sense of freedom, he walks on, as Léa stares into her mirror at her aging face. The narrator reflects on the injustice of fate, that Léa was born two decades before her only true love, Chéri. The narrator also reveals that, while he went through World War 1 without a scratch, Chéri later realises that Léa was the only woman he could ever love, and he commits suicide.

Cast

* Michelle Pfeiffer as Léa de Lonval *

as Fred 'Chéri' Peloux *

Kathy Bates Kathleen Doyle Bates (born June 28, 1948) is an American actor and director. Known for her roles in comedic and dramatic films and television programs, she has received various accolades throughout her career spanning over five decades, includ ...

as Madame Charlotte Peloux *

Felicity Jones Felicity Rose Hadley Jones (born 17 October 1983) is a British actress. She started her professional acting career as a child, appearing in '' The Treasure Seekers'' (1996) at age 12. She went on to play Ethel Hallow for one series of the tel ...

as Edmée *

Frances Tomelty Frances Tomelty (born 6 October 1948) is a Northern Irish actress whose numerous television credits include ''Strangers'' (1978–1979), '' Testament of Youth'' (1979), ''Inspector Morse'' (1988), ''Cracker'' (1993), '' The Amazing Mrs Pritchard ...

as Rose *

Anita Pallenberg Anita Pallenberg (6 April 1942 – 13 June 2017) was a German-Italian actress, artist, and model. A style icon and "It Girl" of the 1960s and 1970s, Pallenberg was credited as the muse of the Rolling Stones: she was the romantic partner of the ...

as La Copine *

Harriet Walter Dame Harriet Mary Walter (born 24 September 1950) is a British actress. She has received a Laurence Olivier Award as well as numerous nominations including for a Tony Award, three Primetime Emmy Awards, and a Screen Actors Guild Award. In 2011 ...

as La Loupiote * Bette Bourne as Baronne * Tom Burke as Vicomte Desmond *

Iben Hjejle Iben Hjejle (22 March 1971) is a Danish actress, notable for starring in the Stephen Frears film '' High Fidelity'' (2000). In Denmark, she is perhaps best known for appearing in the Danish television sitcom '' Langt fra Las Vegas'' (''Far from ...

as Marie Laure *

Toby Kebbell Tobias Alistair Patrick Kebbell''Births, Marriages & Deaths: Toby is married to Arielle Wyatt. They got married in 2020 and they have one child together. Index of England & Wales, 1916–2005.''; at ancestry.com (born 9 July 1982) is an English ...

as Patron

Release

The film was released theatrically in France on 8 April 2009 by

Pathé Distribution Pathé or Pathé Frères (, styled as PATHÉ!) is the name of various French businesses that were founded and originally run by the Pathé Brothers of France starting in 1896. In the early 1900s, Pathé became the world's largest film equipment ...

and in the United Kingdom on 8 May 2009 by Pathé's distribution partner Warner Bros. Entertainment UK, and was the first film released under the then-recent theatrical distribution deal between the two companies. The film was released on DVD in the UK on 21 September 2009 by

20th Century Fox Home Entertainment 20th Century Studios Home Entertainment (commonly referred to as 20th Home Video, or 20th Home Entertainment, formerly known as 20th Century-Fox Video, CBS/Fox Video, Fox Video, and 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment) is a home video label of Wa ...

. As of 2021, Warner Bros. Home Entertainment is currently re-releasing Pathé's film library in the UK.

Reception

''Chéri'' was selected for the Berlin Film Festival official competition. The movie got mixed reviews: ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper '' The Sunday Times'' (f ...

'' of London reviewed the film favourably, describing Hampton's screenplay as a "steady flow of dry quips and acerbic one-liners" and Pfeiffer's performance as "magnetic and subtle, her worldly nonchalance a mask for vulnerability and heartache." Roger Ebert in the ''

Chicago Sun-Times The ''Chicago Sun-Times'' is a daily newspaper published in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Since 2022, it is the flagship paper of Chicago Public Media, and has the second largest circulation among Chicago newspapers, after the ''Chicago ...

'' wrote that it was "fascinating to observe how Pfeiffer controls her face and voice during times of painful hurt."

Kenneth Turan Kenneth Turan (; born October 27, 1946) is an American retired film critic, author, and lecturer in the Master of Professional Writing Program at the University of Southern California. He was a film critic for the ''Los Angeles Times'' from 1991 ...

in the ''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the U ...

'' praised the "wordless scenes that catch Léa unawares, with the camera alone seeing the despair and regret that she hides from the world. It's the kind of refined, delicate acting Pfeiffer does so well, and it's a further reminder of how much we've missed her since she's been away." At

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...

it has a 54% or 'Rotten' rating. Much of the criticism centres on its weak script and poorly executed romance scenes. At

Metacritic Metacritic is a website that aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created by Jason Dietz, Marc ...

, it received "generally favorable reviews" based on 27 critic reviews.

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Cheri 2000s historical comedy-drama films 2000s historical romance films 2009 romantic comedy-drama films 2009 films British historical comedy-drama films British historical romance films British romantic comedy-drama films English-language French films English-language German films Films directed by Stephen Frears Films based on French novels Films based on romance novels Films based on works by Colette Films scored by Alexandre Desplat Films set in the 1900s Films set in Paris Films shot at Shepperton Studios Films shot in Cologne Films shot in Paris French historical comedy-drama films French historical romance films French romantic comedy-drama films German historical comedy-drama films German historical romance films German romantic comedy-drama films 2000s English-language films Belle Époque 2000s British films 2000s French films 2000s German films