Cast: Sandrine Bonnaire, Fabrice Luchini, Michel Duchaussoy, Anne Brochet, Gilbert Melki, Laurent Gamelon Director: Patrice Leconte This Movie explores the Relationship of the minds between two human beings.
It talks about life, death, loneliness, human relationships, betrayal and just hints about sexuality.
The gimmick in "Intimate Strangers" is that a young woman, Anna (Sandrine Bonnaire), unknowingly enters the office of a tax consultant, William (Fabrice Luchini), instead of a psycho-analyst (psychiatrist), and tells him her most intimate secrets.
The question then arises: Did she make an honest mistake, or is the whole thing a setup? Which of the two is the doctor, and which is the patient? Is she telling the truth, or is she is talking about her dreams or fantasies? And why does he maintain the illusion instead of calling her bluff? All the above cat and mouse incidents happen in the first half hour.
Most film-makers would have left the twist to be revealed somewhere at the end of the film, but the director reveals it early in the film which makes the rest of this psychological drama mesmerizing with tidbits of humor to keep the audience thinking.
Sandrine Bonnaire succeeds in conveying the mystery and intrigue of her character, and yet makes Anna wholly believable.
Fabrice Luchini does a wonderful job of portraying William's ever changing emotions of sorrow, shock and happiness merely by his eye movements.
The Director has focussed on very tight and intense conversations that take place throughout the film yet managed a witty and crafty storytelling experience.
If you like French films, this is a must watch.