3 Hearts

This is a wonderful, nicely told story. If you are into the depths of love, its intricate paths, its death ends, this is for you. This is an entertaining yet thoughtful exploration of the intricacies of romantic love, sisterhood, and mother's love. You will struggle to take a side and will leave the film gently touched. Think twice if you are only expecting just another predictable Hollywood film.

This was a funny one for me... while there was a lot to admire about this movie, there were several things that irritated me about it.

On the one hand, it was, in many respects a well-made film; the acting was superb (almost always the case in European movies), the pacing was good, and it was well shot. Some of the scenes were excellent, and the director did a fantastic job of building the tension, and making the audience squirm as the main protagonist dug himself deeper and deeper into a hole of self-destruction. The ending was left deliberately and intriguingly ambiguous (which I like). There were also moments of real comedy, which were well-placed.

There were, however, a number of frustrating aspects to it. Several elements of the plot were glaringly improbable, which made the characters harder to empathise with, and the movie harder to take seriously. The musical score was almost comically ominous and melodramatic. A narrator suddenly popped up halfway through the movie and only appeared twice more - a needless, distracting and frankly baffling gimmick. One strand of the plot fizzled out and proved ultimately irrelevant.

In summary, this movie is worth seeing if there's nothing else on. There are some interesting ideas, some great scenes, and its emotional, passionate nature would appeal to the romantics of this world. The cast is also superb. There were, however, several problems with it, which served to exasperate me.

Don't be fooled by the low rating. Totally loved this film. Very realistic. This is not a Hollywood film with a lot of special effects. So if you are looking for a fairy tale, move on to the next film in queue. The cast is absolutely superb - very real life, all very likable. I loved the three main characters played by Benoit, Charlotte and Chiara. It is hard to dictate whom and how to love, how to fall out of love. And the film is about emotional turmoil involved in chance meetings and close-knit triangles. The ending is open to interpretation. And last, but not least, I totally and completely disagree with other reviewers who mentioned that the cast is sub-par (so far from reality). Great film.

Director Benoît Jacquot's "3 coeurs" ("3 Hearts") gathers on screen a stellar cast. The three lead feminine roles are trusted to Catherine Deneuve, Charlotte Gainsbourg, the daughter of ..., and Chiara Mastroianni, also the daughter of ... and also the daughter of Deneuve in real life. Gainsbourg and Mastroianni play the roles of two sisters in whose life shows up a man - the role is played by Benoît Poelvoorde, whom I have last time seen playing the role of ... God in The Brand New Testament, a film which you should search to see if you happen to have missed. The names and fame of the actors were the principal reasons for which I chose to see this film, and probably also the main reasons for which I will remember it.

Marc Beaulieu (Benoît Poelvoorde) is a tax inspector. A good one and probably even a man of integrity because we see him involved in valiantly handling a high-level corruption case (not really related to the rest of the story). Numbers and determinism may be his profession, but hazard seems to reign in his personal life, which looks like a mess in which he attracts also the two sisters, one after the other. His heart is also feeble, the heart which is said to be for humans the center of noble emotions, but which also distracts and derails the paths of life when it physically malfunctions. Should we let hazard (or destiny) reign upon our lives, or should we try to fix its effects? Is this even possible?

The questions raised by the story in the film are interesting, the resulting film is not really up to the premises. The principal reason is the pace of the story, which lingers for long periods, to jump suddenly at some moments, without a good connection between the different episodes. Good acting cannot save the flaws of the story and especially of the story telling, and despite the promises "3 coeurs" ends by being just another love triangle movie.

A man misses his train and as a result he meets a lady. They spend the night together (you aren't sure if they had sex...this is a bit vague) and before he leaves the next morning to go home, they agree to meet...but they don't know each other's names. He is late for the meeting (because he's an idiot) and she eventually leaves--and normally this would be the end of that. However, some time passes and the same man ends up meeting another woman. They fall in love and marry...and it turns out she's the sister of the woman at the beginning of the film. Talk about awkward family reunions!

When the new husband sees his sister-in-law later, they naturally recognize each other but neither says anything. Several years pass and there still is an unspoken awkwardness between the man and his sister-in-law. Out of the blue, however, they begin an affair. Not surprisingly, this isn't a particularly good idea and things get complicated--though by the end of the film, you get the idea everything will inexplicably work out fine!

One thing I appreciated in this film as well as in many French films is that the folks in the movie are NOT Hollywood beauties nor even close to it. They seem very ordinary and are middle-aged and this makes the film seem a bit more real. This being said, however, the story is very contrived. After all, what are the odds of any of this happening?! The coincidence that the woman he marries is the sister of the woman at the beginning of the film? That he would end up being late just like in "An Affair to Remember" (minus the auto accident). That the two at the beginning of the film would later become lovers...especially since they never really talked between then and the beginning of the movie? And, ultimately, that the mother-in-law would somehow guess exactly what is happening--despite there really being no evidence of this affair. All of this seems a bit far-fetched. Additionally, it was very difficult to empathize with the characters who had the affair--they just seemed like selfish jerks. Because of all these difficulties with the script, I still give the film a 5--simply because the acting is very good though the story left a bit to be desired.