Bonjour Tristesse

Synopsis: Cecile (Jean Seberg ) is the spoilt daughter of a wealthy womaniser, Raymond (David Niven). When an old flame (Deborah Kerr) of Raymond’s turns up and starts to change Cecile’s feckless way of life and turning Raymond into a real square the miffed youngster decides to go to war over Daddy.

In the 1950s being gay was a terribly chic thing to be, only "gay" then meant light-hearted, carefree and pleasure-loving. Such is the spirit of Otto Preminger’s Bonjour Tristesse based on the best-selling Françoise Sagan novel of the same name. Although this self-conscious agenda might be pleasant enough for a while, the trouble is that that is all the film ever is and before long this simply becomes tiresome if not downright oppressive in its lack of tonal variety, Preminger barely allowing a shadow to fall on his determinedly bright confection despite the sobering developments of the coming-of-age narrative.

The three leads together are an ill-assorted combination wiith Niven and Kerr unconvincing as either a mature-age couple in love or posh Riviera-types. Jean Seberg, who was to achieve screen immortality the following year in Godard’s Breatheless, was probably a good choice for the teenage daughter but all she ever does is play pert, the losing of her virginity, needless to say, given but token regard. But really what could any of them do with Arthur Laurents' content-light-but-heavily padded screenplay? Two-thirds of the film is given over to illustrating the trio's plush lifestyle as they have a jolly old time swanning around casinos and cocktail parties and dahling each other but most negligently it brushes aside as a lame denouement what should have been a powerful pay-off to Cecile's selfish folly.

If you’re a fan of Breakfast At Tiffany’s and similarly contrived late 50s/early 60s fare this may please and the newly-restored version will be a treat for lovers of retro style but these same qualities mean that as a stand-alone drama Bonjour Tristesse is also locked in the manners of the day and now looks painfully insubstantial.

Screening at ACMI as part of their First Look season of films.

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