Max Ophüls's masterpiece of French Cinema makes superb use of a pair of earrings for its romantic MacGuffin. Ophüls's mastery of dramatic composition is on display in lavish visuals that are as breathtaking today as when they were filmed.
The setting for this adaptation of the classic story is fin-de-siècle Paris. Danielle Darrieux is ravishing as Madame Louise de — we never learn her surname — a military general's wife with a reputation as a flirt. In dire need of cash, Comtesse Louise decides to sell the diamond earrings her husband André (Charles Boyer) gave her for their wedding. She returns them to the original jeweler, who in turn sells them back to the general along with his wife's secret.
André re-gifts the jewels to his mistress before she leaves town. Unsurprisingly, the mistress sells the earrings to pay off a gambling debt. Baron Fabrizio Donati (Vittorio De Sica), an Italian diplomat romantically smitten with the equally charmed Madame, purchases the baubles. Each time the earrings turn up, they expose another thread of deceit to the general. The general establishes himself late in the game as the film's true protagonist.
Based on Louise de Vilmorin's novel, "The Earrings of Madame de…" offers up a treasure trove of opulence. Ophüls's depiction of international upper classes brims with an electricity of social polarities. Cinematographer Christian Matras keeps his camera moving against every atmosphere of sublime luxury. The film's centerpiece involves a sequence of ballroom dances between Louise and the Baron that explicates the battle between their lust and their social constraints. "They're seen everywhere because they can't meet anywhere."
The potential for romantic happiness for the film's three central characters revolves around something none of them can have. They are trapped by mannered modes of communication to define themselves. The weight of history that sticks to the earrings brings with it a revelation of the lies told around them.
The filmmakers imbue every production design detail with unspoken historic value. The Madame's missing last name points out an abstract sense of fame and status. It also speaks to Louise's lack of loyalty that prevents her from committing completely to her husband. There's a sense of loss in the title. A pair of earrings becomes an ultimate symbol of generational longing.
Not Rated. 105 mins.
