Nearest To Heaven | Catherine Deneuve, William Hurt | Just go to the Empire State Building NOW

Nearest To Heaven | Catherine Deneuve, William Hurt | Nearest To Heaven

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Nearest To Heaven

	Nearest To Heaven Catherine Deneuve, William Hurt Fox Lorber, 2005 average customer review:based on 5 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

Starring Catherine Deneuve, William Hurt. From tribute.com - "Fanette (Deneuve) is writing a book on the abstract painter Francois Arnal. One day, when she learns that the man she considered her one great love, Phillippe, is in town, she can't stop thinking about him, even believing she has spotted him at a screnning of her favorite film, An Affair to Remember........she has to go to NY to photograph some of Arnai's paintings....before leaving she gets a note from Philippe, asking her to meet him in 3 days at the top of the Empire State Building........."

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Just go to the Empire State Building NOW

A middle-aged Frenchwoman is either experiencing delusions... More of grandeur or the full force of destiny in director Tonie Marshall's 2002 romantic drama Nearest to Heaven (Au Plus Pres Du Paradis). When single non-fiction book author Fanette (Catherine Deneuve) accidentally bumps into former schoolmate Bernard (Bernard Le Coq) -- who was smitten with Fanette in school but whose affection remained unrequited -- she is reminded of another man whom she loved intensely. This other man, Philippe, left a huge impression on Fanette as she begins to lose herself in reminiscences over the brief, intense relationship the two experienced. After catching a number of screenings for the 1957 film An Affair to Remember -- which was also Fanette and Philippe's favorite film during their fling -- Fanette gets the notion from what may or may not be a figment of her imagination to go to New York and visit the observation deck of the Empire State Building. Setting out under the pretense of putting the finishing touches on her latest book, she arrives in the States and discovers her usual photographer has been replaced by the single and somewhat attractive male photographer Matt (William Hurt) -- which further confuses Fanette when she eventually develops feelings for him. ~ Ryan Shriver, All Movie Guide...

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Nearest To Heaven

Nearest To Heaven is an excellent Deneuve movie. You can see her range of acting skills which has made her famous for so many years.

First Loves, Memory, and Fantasy versus Reality

NEAREST TO HEAVEN ('Au plus près du paradis') is in many ways a simple old-fashioned melodrama - but with a delectable twist. Writers Anne-Louise Trividic and Tonie Marshall (who also directs) have created a tale of lost first love that follows a woman through her life, and ultimately becomes an obsession.

Fanette (Catherine Deneuve, as luminously beautiful and sensuous as she approaches 60 as ever) is an art historian working on a book project for which she must fly to New York to obtain photographs of the subject artist's work. Fanette is successful but has a distance in her emotional makeup that surfaces when she hears from an old friend Bernard (Bernard Le Coq) that her first love Philippe is in town (Paris) for a class reunion. Fanette begins to imagine she sees Philippe in cafes, and in movie houses (especially in a theater where she repeatedly views her favorite film "An Affair to Remember"). Ready to leave for New York she finds a note from Philippe who asks her to meet him at an appointed hour at the Empire State Building (!).

In New York she meets Matt (William Hurt), the photographer assigned to Fanette's task. Matt is wise, attracted to Fanette, and though Fanette is attracted to Matt, she still obsesses about her upcoming reunion with Philippe. Of course, as in the movie, Fanette waits atop the Empire State Building until the appointed hour on the night she is to meet Philippe, and when he of course doesn't appear...well, see the film to appreciate the ending.

On the surface this film is a bit corny and contrived, but in the hands of actors like Deneuve and Hurt the psychological implications of the plot are more profound and even sincerely touching. The ultimate drive of the movie is an examination of the obsessive powers first love affairs have over us and how the passage of time alters memory into the fantasy that we can actually return to the early moments of bliss. An interesting twist is the fact that while the story is in Paris, the film is shot in French and when the story shifts to New York the film is in English. This may annoy some viewers, but it is a bit more in keeping with the touch of verismo that prevents this film from being JUST an old-fashioned melodrama. And if for no other reason to see it, the film further documents the timeless beauty and talent of Catherine Deneuve. Grady Harp, February 2005.

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Romantic movie for the people over 35

I'm glad to see that they do make romantic films with middle age couples in it. And she is about 7 years older! What is interesting because it's half in French and the other half English speaking.I used to have a crush on William Hurt in the '80s. He has that languid yet intelligent sexuality about him (like Nicolas Cage). Yes, I know that sounds weird...what can I say?I recommend this movie for anyone over 40. Or at least in their late 30s.

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