Pauline at the Beach

CinemaSerfSep 2024

3.5

It is poor old "Sylvain" (Simon de La Brosse) that I felt sorry for as he takes a bit of a shine to the visiting "Pauline" (Amanda Langlet) only to find himself swiftly embroiled in a tangled web of infidelities, lies and deceit. Much of that emanates from her cousin "Marion" (Arielle Dombasle). She is on the verge of divorce and just wants to spend some time au bord de la mer in peace and quiet. That plans pretty much hits the skids on day one when she meets her ex-boyfriend "Pierre" (Pascal Greggory) and his pal "Henri" (Féodor Atkine). What now ensues sees both of these men make a play for "Marion". The former with a more serious intent, the latter quite happy for the cinematic equivalent of a quickie. "Marion" is of her own mind here, though, and doesn't really play ball with either and all of these shenanigans impact quite profoundly on the young "Pauline", especially as she starts to become fond of "Sylvain" only to find that faith rocked by some of the game-playing from the competing "Henri" and "Pierre" as she has to do some premature growing up. At times this is a little over-contrived, with that sense that if something can go wrong it will or if it's vital that a person doesn't turn up just at that moment, then you just know they will - and that's a bit annoying on occasion as it tends to undermine just a little too much of the drama here. That said, it's still quite a different coming-of-age style of story that isn't limited to the maturing of the younger members of the cast. Langlet delivers delicately here and Greggory does get a bit under your skin as both men seek the attentions of a woman who's generally quite tired of the fickle attitudes of the men around her and "Pauline" just gets increasingly fed up.