Sean’s review
Paul and Paulette Take a Bath, written and directed by Jethro Massey, is a romantic movie that stars Jérémie Galiana as an American in Paris who falls for Paulette (Marie Benati), who has a morbid interest in the darker sides of the city’s history.
I had no idea what to expect going into this film, but I was pleasantly surprised with how it played out. The chemistry between the two leads is very strong as you’re able to see how well their bond grows over the film, despite some hurdles they face along the way. Visually, the movie is stunning, with great cinematography of the different historical sites and locations they visit, but also in how they present the history to the audience.
Throughout the film, our two main leads struggle with their past relationships, and the film explores this in different ways.
Overall, I enjoyed this film and the relationship between the two leads, although I do wish that they spent a little more time exploring the other relationships the main characters have, as they play an important part in the plot. Overall, I’d recommend this film and would give it a solid:
Aaron’s review
Paul and Paulette Take a Bath is a quirky new wave romance/comedy by up-and-coming British-French director Jethro Massey.
Paul (played by Jérémie Galiana) and Paulette (played by Marie Benati) both meet in Paris. Paul is a young American with aspirations to be a photographer, but is subsequently forced to go down a route of having a fairly mundane job as an estate agent, where he has a relationship with his female boss, Valérie (played by Laurence Vaissiere) who gained the nickname “Goebbels” due to her firm management style. That is just one of the many tonally awkward nazi gags throughout the movie, which may divide audiences due to its use.
Paul is entranced by the sight of Paulette, an elegant and stylish young French woman is kneeling down, envisioning herself as Marie Antoinette, who is getting executed on the Place de la Concorde. He snaps her picture, and they bond over a shared interest and passion for history and throughout the movie, they have a turbulent relationship with a lot of tension and uncertainties.
The movie, from a cinematography standpoint, is phenomenal; it was my favourite aspect, and there was a lot of research involved. It doesn’t shy away from explaining France’s sketchy Impirical history as bluntly as possible, the issue for some of the audience might come with its use and Romanisation of Nazi history, some stuff may feel a little on the nose or tone deaf to an extent, specifically around the midpoint. All in all, I really enjoyed it and would absolutely recommend it. The acting is good, with Marie Benati’s performance of Paulette being a standout, for me. The movie’s cinematography is great; it is well researched – some aspects are a little tonally weird, but there is good payoff. I would give it a solid:
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