RSS
Home
Cheri: A sensual romance with little substance
Print
Email
RSS
Subscribe
.JPG)
Michelle Pfeiffer in Cheri
Retiring Parisienne courtesans, Lea and Madame Peloux, played by Michelle Pfeiffer and Kathy Bates, wax nostalgic for the days of their youth which are quickly slipping away. They have managed to do fairly well in their chosen profession. Lea (Pfeiffer) remains especially beautiful and not ready to abandon romance, while Madame Peloux wants her nineteen year old son to stop his aimless ways and settle down. She asks Lea to take him under her wings, so that he may grow up and learn about women. Cheri - her son, played by Rupert Friend - and Lea begin a torrid affair immediately thereafter that lasts six years. It becomes the most meaningful relationship in her life.
This is not the future his mother expected or wanted for her son, and she arranges a marriage to a young beautiful woman from a well-to-do family. But the bond and attraction between Lea and Cheri is stronger than anyone anticipated, having serious emotional repercussions on both of them.
The costume is beautiful in this turn of the century drama, and the primary actors are appealing and sensual together. However, unlike Dangerous Liaisons, Cheri does not possess the often mean-spirited sexual and political intrigue and manipulation of the characters portrayed by Glen Close and John Malkovich, nor does it explore the limited circumstance and choices for women of that era. In this regard, the film is one-dimensional and a bit shallow. In fact, Lea, initially finds Cheri extremely mysterious and attactive exactly because he has very little to say. Dangerous Liaisons was all about the dialogue, wit and banter. The romance and sexual contrivances were secondary to the cruel, political story-line.
Cheri, directed by Stephen Frears, is meant to be a sentimental, romantic farce, and while the appeal of Pfeiffer and Friend is commanding on screen, the story itself has very little substance.
MPAA Rating: R
Related Articles:
Add a Comment
