The excitement in The Soft Skin, however, gives way to an intense tragedy that's INFORMED by the thrills.
The Soft Skin(La Peau douce)
✭ ✭ ✭ ✭ Read critic reviews
France · 1964
1h 59m
Director François Truffaut
Starring Françoise Dorléac, Jean Desailly, Nelly Benedetti, Daniel Ceccaldi
Genre Drama, Romance
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Pierre Lachenay is a famous writer and editor, married to Franca and father to 10-year-old Sabine. While on a trip to Lisbon, he meets Nicole, a beautiful air hostess. What happens to Pierre’s marriage when he is unable to stay away from the enchanting Nicole?
What are people saying?
What are critics saying?
The Soft Skin is a movie about the agony and ecstasy of an extramarital affair. Truffaut treats it like a crime film-low-key yet tense, filled with carefully planted potential "clues" and an undercurrent of anxiety.
Redemptively, the cast goes a long way: Jean Desailly is perfect as a jowly literary celeb deep in midlife crisis, while the aloof Françoise Dorléac is magnetic as his airline stewardess and all-too-scrutable love object.
Chicago Sun-Times by Roger Ebert
What it comes down to is: Pierre is a lousy adulterer. He lacks the desire, the reason and the skill.
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