Nothing is what it seems in “The New Girlfriend,” the new comedy-drama by cheeky, gay French filmmaker François Ozon, opening at Ritz Theaters Sept. 18.
Based on a Ruth Rendell novel, the film opens with lipstick, eyeliner and blush being applied to a woman’s face. Although a wedding march is being played, the “bride” is actually the corpse of Laura (Isild Le Besco). Laura’s best friend, Claire (Anaïs Demoustier), delivers the eulogy at the funeral and promises to watch over Laura’s infant, Lucie, and her husband, David (Romain Duris).
While Claire is grief-stricken, her emotions take a further somersault when she enters Laura’s house and makes an unexpected discovery: David is dressed as a woman. He is as startled as she, but David is also relieved he can confide his secret in someone. He quickly explains that Laura knew that he cross-dressed for fun, and never in public. David asks Claire to keep this between them and not tell her husband, Gilles (Raphaël Personnaz).
Initially taken aback, Claire eventually comes to enjoy the company of “Virginia” (David dressed in female garb), especially after she takes him shopping. Claire starts to befriend Virginia as intensely as she once did Laura.
As the characters in “The New Girlfriend” lie, their deceptions start to raise various suspicions. The delight of the film is seeing how the situations that develop between Claire, David/Virginia and Gilles form an elegantly twisted web.
While there is dramatic tension created around if and how David’s secret will be discovered, Ozon’s film features plenty of amusement. At a dinner, Gilles mistakes David’s admiration of a woman’s dress as having an interest in the woman wearing it. Likewise, when David is at the movies with Claire while dressed as Virginia, he receives some not-unwanted physical attention from a handsy man sitting next to him (Ozon in a fabulous cameo).
While David insists men have never turned him on — he is resolutely straight — the film develops humor and tension as a series of queer love triangles plays out, as when Claire tries to persuade Gilles that David is gay to cover for his cross-dressing. “The New Girlfriend” is full of delicious twists as multiple same-sex permutations play out, both real and imagined.
The film is also an affecting drama about grief, love and identity. The codependent nature of Claire and Virginia is a means for the two bereft friends to cope with their shared loss. An episode in which Claire and Virginia spend a weekend at Laura’s country home triggers sad memories for Claire. It provides one of the few moments David/Virginia can care for Claire.
What makes “The New Girlfriend” so engaging is how nonjudgmental the film is about David’s transvestism. The two main characters each experience moments of self-loathing, but they also find solace in “Virginia.” A scene of the two women each dressing for dinner shows how they move beyond their pain. A subsequent episode at a gay nightclub featuring a drag performance is especially liberating for the two “girlfriends.”
Duris is remarkable in the dual title role, and not just because he looks fetching in a wig and a dress. The actor has effeminate mannerisms that are sometimes exposed — like the lipstick he accidentally left on, or the beard he forgot to remove — that threaten to reveal his secret. What makes Duris’ performance so tender and touching is that he is always expressing David’s humanity. There may be comic moments, such as David dressed in a black, lacy bra and panties getting his lower back hair waxed, but this is one of the few comedies where a man in a dress is played for sensitivity, not laughs.
Demoustier is also impressive in her role, making Claire’s transformation and all of the emotions that go with it — anger, fear, denial, acceptance and eventually concern and guilt — credible. The actress with her red hair and freckles is also made to look stunning in a red dress, or masculine at times in less-flattering suits. Demoustier is a terrific performer and she makes a good coconspirator with Duris.
As the plot plays out to its wonderful denouement, there are scenes that suggest just how fragile the relationships among the trio might actually be. If things reach a (soap) operatic pitch — with betrayals and other developments that are best not revealed — Ozon has the last laugh.
“The New Girlfriend” is sure to leave viewers smiling and enchanted.