BEAU PÈRE Movie Review

The Stepfather

When the wife of 30-year-old pianist Remy (Patrick Dewaere) dies in a traffic accident, he and his 14-year-old stepdaughter, Marion (Ariel Besse), are left alone to make the best of it. Soon, however, her biological father comes to take her away, but her concern for and adoration of Remy leads her back to his door, and ultimately to his bed. As always, writer/director Bertrand Blier (Get Out Your Handkerchiefs) stands convention on its head. He films a sexually unconventional subject, one that sounds like pure exploitation, but confounds our expectations by creating a funny, touching, and, in the case of Beau Père, deeply insightful look at the undeniable bonds between sexuality, security, and family values. Especially noteworthy in Beau Père is the tender and extremely sweet performance of Blier veteran Patrick Dewaere, who made his first screen appearance in Blier's subversive 1974 debut film, Going Places. A suicide at the height of his career, just one year after the release of Beau Père, Dewaere may well be best remembered for this courageous and delicately shaded portrayal of a fully grown man whose confusion and loneliness and ultimate contentment are nearly palpable.

NEXT STOP … Mon Homme, Get Out Your Handkerchiefs, The Sweet Hereafter

1981 125m/C FR Patrick Dewaere, Nathalie Baye, Ariel Besse, Maurice Ronet; D: Bertrand Blier; W: Bertrand Blier; C: Sacha Vierny. M: Philippe Sarde. VHS