Un amor imposible

I did not seek out this film.

Watched it one Sunday afternoon on BBC iPlayer.

I was feeling unwell and thought it looked gentle enough. There was no write up, so did not know what to expect.

It was a fine, intelligent film; Rachel was a wonderful character, I liked and understood her. It is this factor that sustains the film throughout. The two hours or so passed quickly; one becomes heavily invested in the central character.

One is left with no doubt about Phillippe from the start, he is not ordinary and totally narcissistic. Therein lies the reason for, what sometimes seems like, his unfathomable hold over Rachel. This is not about class differences or anything as mundane as that keeping lovers apart, this is about a true narcissist's manipulation of a trusting and loving girl / woman.

When adult Chantel, Rachel and Philippe's daughter, confronts Rachel at the end, Rachel's answer is believable; she simply did not conceive that the problems in their mother and daughter relationship, during Chantel's teenage years, was anything other than that she, Rachel, was simply not good enough.

I am trying not to give anything away, just watch the film and see it play out. Just remember that it is Rachel's life you are watching unfolding.