When Le Consentement hit bookstores in 2020, it caused quite a stir. This autobiographical account by Vanessa Springora recalls her teenage years, spent "in a relationship", or rather under the sway of writer Gabriel Matzneff, 36 years her senior. In 2023, the book was adapted for the screen by Vanessa Filho(Gueule d'ange), with an unrecognizable Jean-Paul Rouve in the role of the writer. The film is scheduled for release on October 11.
The role of Vanessa Springora is played by a number of actresses, to embody the young woman's different ages: Kim Higelin as the teenager, and Elodie Bouchez as the adult. Laetitia Casta completes the cast.
Our verdict
What could cinema bring to such a story? It's a legitimate question when you read Vanessa Springora's deeply moving account of the relationship between the 14-year-old and Gabriel Matzneff, a well-known writer in his 50s. Vanessa Filho's film faithfully follows the plot of the novel, the meeting between the young girl and the writer in the mid-1980s, and the evolution of the immensely toxic relationship, in which Vanessa suffers more and more violently from the destructive hold this predator exerts over her.
The impressive thing about this adaptation is the acting. They alone justify the need to adapt this story. Matzneff, played by Jean-Paul Rouve in what is surely his greatest film role, is deified by the direction, to underline his hold and the fascination, then terror, he inspires in young Vanessa, played by the remarkably talented revelation Kim Higelin.
Given the subject matter, the film is obviously hard to watch. Certain scenes inspire a deep sense of unease, such as the explicit filming of the lovemaking between the child and the 50-year-old. All the more so when the latter starts bragging about the relationship: "I would have been so proud if everyone had seen me with my beautiful schoolgirl," he says confidently. The film hides nothing, and the grip of such a toxic relationship has never been shown so explicitly. The result is chilling.
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