REVIEW: Bel Ami

Bel Ami is a film you would expect to impress – at least to impress its target audience. It looks like it has all the right ingredients for a young female audience to adore it; beautiful period clothing, an understated love story and a brooding Robert Pattinson who seduces multiple women.

Yet it fails to realise its potential (however limited that potential may have been). This retelling of Guy de Maupassant’s novel falls short largely because of its recreation of the central character, George Duroy.

Despite Pattinson’s looks, Bel Ami fails to create a likeable or intriguing central character for the audience to emotionally invest in. In fact, it’s pretty hard to care at all what happens to Duroy, who is exceptional only in his dullness. Somehow, in the translation from book to screen, this character has lost his manipulative charm, inherent cunning and clear understanding of the Parisian social order of the era. Throughout the film, his intentions are often pretty ambiguous.

Pattinson’s stock tool of ‘languishing stare’ barely differs from woman to woman (even from woman to money). It is only about half way through that the character finally begins to find any emotional depth. It is unclear whether we should lay the blame for this on Rob Pattinson’s broad shoulders or on the script. George Duroy has very little dialogue throughout and what little he has lacks any kind of nuance. It seems that, unlike in Twilight, Pattinson is unable to carry a film merely with heavy sighing and ominous looks.

However, there are upsides to this film. The supporting cast are all fantastic, especially Uma Therman, who subtly outshines Pattinson so much that I left the cinema wishing Bel Ami had been about her. Christina Ricci is charming as a Parisian socialite and Kristen Scott Thomas wonderfully portrays a lonely aging beauty. Even Phillip Glenister (and his impressive moustache) convinces in his first major film role. These actors are all wearing stunning clothing throughout (although the mens’ high collars do make for some very unattractive multiple chins) and wandering through beautiful sets.

Bel Ami is the kind of film that could be enjoyable if you feel like staying in your pyjamas, eating pizza and pining after beautiful clothes, exceptional wealth and, let’s face it, Pattinson’s really rather lovely face.

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