TENUE DE SOIREE

France, 1986, 84 minutes, Colour.
Gerard Depardieu, Michel Blanc, Miou Miou, Jean-Francois? Stevenin, Mylene Demongeot, Bruno Cremer.
Directed by Bertrand Blier.

Tenue de Soiree, Evening Dress, was written and directed by Bertrand Blier, writer and director of such anarchical French comedy dramas as Going Places and the Oscar-winning Get Out Your Handkerchiefs (both with Gerard Depardieu) This film was more popular and acceptable - though no less offbeat. It offers the possibility of audiences seeing the tough Geratd Depardieu as a robber, but also as a homosexual and ultimately in drag as a transvestite prostitute. It is a tribute to writer-director and actor that this can be carried off with some credibility. The strength of the film is also the performance by Michel Blanc (winner of Best Actor at Cannes) for his portrait of the small and bemused robber, homosexual. The attractive actress Miou Miou forms the third in a quite strange menagestatrois.

The film is comic, satiric, and a comment on the crime genre film, the exploration of themes of the sexes - as well as a spoof on the attitudes of Ftench society.

1. An interesting and entertaining film? offbeat? Its point?

2. The atmosphere of the French city, the apartments, restaurants, wealthy homes, the streets?

3. The title and its irony? Its application to the central characters at various stages throughout the film?

4. The focus on Monique and Antoine? Their relationship, age difference? Their poverty, the caravan? Their quarreling? The arrival of Bob? His strong action towards Monique? His showing them the money? The seduction by money? Monique and Antoine and their response to Bob, their decision to participate in the housebreaking? The visits to the various houses? The confrontation with the owners of the houses? Escaping the police? The decision to set up home together? The relationship of Monique and Antoine to Bob? Monique being left out? Antoine attracted towards Bob, a strong relationship with Monique? The setting up of the house, Bob overwhelming Antoine? The homosexual relationship? Monique and the relationship with Pedro? The fate of Monique and Antoine? Monique becoming one of Pedro's call-girls? Antoine and his relationship with Bob, in drag? Antoine and his disillusionment? The gun, the shooting of Pedro? Monique shooting Antoine and injuring him? The surprise and the oddity of the ending with the three of them as prostitutes, Bob and Antoine as transvestites? Their meeting? The finale with their looking over what had happened to them?

5. The portrait of Bob: the Depardieu character, his arriving in the bar, interest in Monique and Antoine, his violence towards Monique, the money, inviting them to work with him, his persuasiveness, the housebreaking, the encounters with the owners of the houses, the law? The setting up, of home together? Bob and his designs on Antoine? The ousting of Monique? Bob and his relationship with Pedro? Getting Monique out of the way? Bob and Antoine out together, Antoine in drag? The tensions for Antoine? The shooting? The irony of the ending with Bob and Antoine as transvestite prostitutes?

6. The sketch of Pedro, pimp, the women, relationship with Monique, luring her away, setting her up as a prostitute?

7. The world of the bars, the prostitutes? Humorously presented, sympathetically? Critique?

8. The sketch of the wealthy, their homes, the set-ups and the robberies?

9. The overall effect of this kind of Gallic serious comedy and satire?