The Nature of Love
| The Nature of Love | |
|---|---|
 Release poster | |
| French | Simple comme Sylvain |
| Directed by | Monia Chokri |
| Written by | Monia Chokri |
| Produced by | Nancy Grant Sylvain Corbeil |
| Starring | Magalie Lépine-Blondeau Pierre-Yves Cardinal |
| Cinematography | André Turpin |
| Music by | Émile Sornin |
Production company | Metafilms |
| Distributed by | MK2 Films |
Release date | |
| Country | Canada |
| Language | French |
The Nature of Love (Template:Lang-fr) is a 2023 Canadian romantic comedy-drama film directed by Monia Chokri.[2]
The film had its world premiere in the Un Certain Regard section at the 2023 Cannes Film Festival on 18 May 2023.[1]
Plot
The film stars Magalie Lépine-Blondeau as Sophia, a university professor with a comfortable life and a stable but unexciting marriage to Xavier (Francis-William Rhéaume), whose life is upended when she meets and is attracted to Sylvain (Pierre-Yves Cardinal), a blue-collar construction contractor whom the couple hires to renovate their summer home.[3]
Cast
- Magalie Lépine-Blondeau as Sophie
- Francis-William Rhéaume as Xavier
- Pierre-Yves Cardinal as Sylvain
- Monia Chokri
- Steve Laplante
- Marie-Ginette Guay
- Micheline Lanctôt
- Christine Beaulieu
- Mathieu Baron
- Linda Sorgini
- Guy Thauvette
- Guillaume Laurin
- Karelle Tremblay[4]
Production
Production on the film was first announced in fall 2022.[5]
Release
The film premiered in the Un Certain Regard section at the 2023 Cannes Film Festival on 18 May 2023.[1][2]
Critical response
Catherine Bray of Variety praised the film, writing that " The film is impeccably cast. As Sophia, Magalie Lépine Blondeau (whom Chokri first directed ten years ago in her hugely successful short An Extraordinary Person) is wonderful, gifted with great comic timing and a particular knack for telegraphing that sense of someone who knows they’re making a huge mistake, but are compelled to go ahead and make it anyway. That’s handy, since it is perhaps the character’s defining trait. But it’s hard to imagine Blondeau’s role working as well as it does without the right actor as Sylvain, the kind of guy whose compulsive sexual charm is enough, by itself, to swamp every other more cautious instinct. Luckily, Cardinal has form here, having previously sizzled in Xavier Dolan’s Tom at the Farm, as the burly agricultural man’s man to Dolan’s fashionable city boy. Call it screen presence, magnetism, charisma — Cardinal has it."[6]
Savina Petkova of Cineuropa wrote that "Even if The Nature of Love can’t shake off the pessimistic thought that all instances of a heterosexual, monogamous love life are doomed to repeat the same cycle of infatuation/marriage/depletion of desire, it offers a special, nuanced take on love and what love can be. It even suggests a canon of studies on romance – a topic equally neglected in philosophy and ethics – with quotes by the likes of Plato, bell hooks and Vladimir Jankélévitch, but without being didactic in any way. Overall, Chokri’s new film is as confident as its protagonist, a woman who knows how to articulate her desires, to surrender and to leave them behind, when it feels right.[7]
Accolades
| Award / Film Festival | Date of ceremony | Category | Recipient(s) | Result | Ref(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cannes Film Festival | 26 May 2023 | Un Certain Regard | Monia Chokri | Nominated | [2] |
| Queer Palm | Nominated | [8] |
References
- ^ a b c "The Screenings Guide of the 76th Festival de Cannes" (PDF). festival-cannes.com. 10 May 2023. p. 4. Archived (PDF) from the original on 11 May 2023. Retrieved 14 May 2023.
- ^ a b c "Simple comme Sylvain, de Monia Chokri, ira à Cannes". Ici Radio-Canada, April 13, 2023.
- ^ Marc-André Lussier, "Monia Chokri de retour au Festival de Cannes". La Presse, April 13, 2023.
- ^ "« Simple comme Sylvain » de Monia Chokri au Festival de Cannes dans la section Un Certain Regard". CTVM, April 13, 2023.
- ^ Éric Lavallée, "An Affair to Remember: Magalie Lépine Blondeau Toplines Monia Chokri’s 'Simple Comme Sylvain'". Ion Cinema, October 7, 2022.
- ^ Catherine Bray, "‘The Nature of Love’ Review: Monia Chokri’s Delightful New Film Asks What Happens If You Scratch the Seven-Year Itch". Variety, May 18, 2023.
- ^ Savina Petkova, "Review: The Nature of Love". Cineuropa, May 22, 2023.
- ^ Florian Ques (May 4, 2023). "Festival de Cannes : voici les films en lice pour la Queer Palm 2023". Têtu (in French). Retrieved May 16, 2023.