The New Girlfriend

François Ozon's film is adapted from a short story by Ruth Rendell. Claire, played by Anaïs Demoustier, tries to look after her late childhood friend Laura's husband David and their baby to keep a promise she made. Letting herself into the house one day she finds David, played by Romain Duris, dressed in his wife's clothes. The film does not turn this into a thriller about keeping a secret. Claire is horrified at first, then begins spending time with this new person, Virginia, and comes to enjoy it. Ozon's actual subject is not who David is but Claire trying to understand what her own desire is touching, with the dead friend standing in the middle of the relationship. The tone keeps sliding between melodrama, comedy and suspense, which is Ozon's habitual method. Reception split too: some praised the performances by Duris and Demoustier, others counted it among the director's weaker works. It premiered in Toronto on 6 September 2014. Who it is for: viewers who like Ozon's games with genre and French drama built on identity. Who it is not for: anyone looking for present-day precision on the subject, since the film sometimes treats gender identity and cross-dressing as the same thing.