Love and the Forests on France 2: Virginie Efira in a stifling thriller (review)

Director Valérie Donzelli signs a major work on male influence. His most controlled, strongest and most beautiful film to date.

Unveiled two years ago at the Cannes Film Festival and awarded the César for best adaptation in 2024, Love and the forests is broadcast for the first time unencrypted, this Wednesday on France 2 (and available the next day for free streaming on France.TV). Virginie Efira faces Melvil Poupaud in this drama dissecting the narcissistic control of a husband over his wife. Here is the review of First published when it was released in cinemas:

It all starts as a romantic comedy. To take her mind off things, Rose takes her twin sister Blanche to an evening where she meets Grégoire, subtle, elegant, charismatic. Immediate love at first sight. Marriage and children will follow. But this melody of happiness quickly makes dissonant notes heard. Here, a look. There, a remark. Because without knowing it, this teacher appreciated by all has just plunged into a toxic relationship which will isolate her from everyone.

By bringing to the screen Love and forests, the book by Eric Reinhardt (in collaboration, writing, with Audrey Diwan), Valérie Donzelli leaves her comfort zone, transforms her staging (usually playful with pop accents) to take hold of this story, without embellishment, without effect, favoring sequence shots which let the tension rise to an over-cutting which would make you jump.

With impressive mastery, she plunges us into the head of her heroine throughout a stifling thriller, punctuated by intriguing face-to-face encounters between Blanche and a woman – of whom we do not initially know whether she is a judge, cop or lawyer – who takes her word. Transcending her subject, Donzelli constructs a masterful portrait of a woman, anything but a simple victim since she will find the strength to go to the end of this nightmare to understand its mechanisms and never be trapped.

Never breaking open doors, Valérie Donzelli signs her greatest film, carried by major actors. Melvil Poupaud striking with his ability to create terror behind the face of an angel in the lead and Virginie Efira impressive for the nuances she brings to the violence experienced by Blanche. A second consecutive Caesar extends his arms to him.