Les grandes personnes

After making Breathless (and before its success) Jean Seberg made three movies in France exploiting her youth and American accent. The first, Loveplay, is available but only in a poor quality copy, nor is it as rewarding as Time Out for Love. The third, Five Day Lover, probably was never released in video. For Jean Seberg fans Time Out for Love shows her off very well. She first appears as a pig-tailed brunette, Ann, a Nebraska nursing student on a summer vacation. The intention is that she is awkward and naive, but she looks great, especially in a sweater. Later she is transformed by her sophisticated friend, Michele (Micheline Presle), into a glamorous version of her cropped hair Breathless look. Both women share a love interest in a cold-hearted charmer (Maurice Ronet) who has seen better times. As in Loveplay, inevitable disillusionment follows, with the suggestion of life long consequences. Jean and Maurice Ronet are not as engaging as her pairing with Jean-Paul Belmondo in Breathless. But the photographic quality of my copy (Hollywood's Attic release) is far superior to what is available for Breathless, and unlike Breathless, the subtitles are almost all quite readable. If you like Jean Seberg, as an actress or a woman, you should enjoy this film.