Review of Balzac: A Passionate Life

I love Gerard Depardieu. The man works ALL the time, and he is one of the most gifted actors in the history of cinema and theatre. However, I just couldn't watch all of this mini-series. It was too painful. Yes, geniuses and artists can be difficult to live with--as Picasso's many wives and mistresses can attest. But Balzac just seemed to be a JERK! I know that some of it he couldn't help--such as having a mother who blew hot and cold (mostly cold)--but everyone here either was a manipulator or an enabler. Balzac's behavior was like that of an alcoholic or compulsive gambler: so sure that this time things were really going to come together, and wheedling people out of desperation, promising the moon and the stars, only to revert back to his old ways when yet another crisis was averted. Having lived with a man like him more than a decade ago, this one brought back too many bad memories for me to finish it on the second night, when I hear that Fanny Ardent gave a memorable performance. I tried to tell myself, "this is Gerard playing a character," but in this case, he almost succeeded too well.

To the producers' credit, the set, costumes, and photography were beautiful. And I did think it was a very clever "inside joke" for them to include dialogue about Balzac's book "Colonel Chabert"--which was made into a movie starring Mr. Depardieu several years ago. It's just that Balzac, unlike Edmond Dantesor or even Georges from "Green Card," is just not at all the type of character I could muster up any sympathy or empathy for. It will not stop me from seeing what Gerard and Josee Dayan do next. I'm looking forward to Les Miserables already:)