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Time for Loving
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| Year: |
1972
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Director: |
Christopher Miles
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| Stars: |
Joanna Shimkus, Mel Ferrer, Britt Ekland, Philippe Noiret, Susan Hampshire, Mark Burns, Lila Kedrova, Robert Dhery, Michel Legrand, Didier Haudepin, Ophelie Stermann, Jany Holt, Eleonore Hirt, Lyne Chardonnet, Gilbert Geniat, Jacques Marin
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| Genre: |
Romance |
| Rating: |
  5 (from 1 vote) |
| Review: |
Englishman Geoff (Mark Burns) has arrived in Paris to return to an old building he used to frequent with a former girlfriend; it is a place with many warm memories for him, but what he does not realise is that top floor apartment where most of the memories are based has been sneaked into by a teenage boy (Didier Haudepin), the son of the concierge, and his girlfriend (Ophelie Stermann). They are already making progress towards losing their virginities to one another, but they have to do so in secret, as the concierge especially would be outraged if she knew what they had planned. Meanwhile, Geoff has plans of his own...
Time for Loving was a British film made in France, with a French script translated (mostly) into English, creating a strange, not quite convincing atmosphere where everyone's dialogue gave the impression of being more effective had it been left in the screenwriter's original language (the screenwriter being Jean Anouilh). Composer Michel Legrand was also a driving force behind the project, one of France's most celebrated creators of popular classical and film scores, not to mention a number of straight ahead pop songs as well, and he appeared before the camera here as, guess what, a musician, though not in a large role, it had to be said.
He was recognisable, mind you, being a distinctive-looking chap, and he went as far as crooning his own title song as heard over the beginning and ending, making this a curio for fans of his stylings (he performed it in English too, with a strong accent for the full Charles Aznavour effect). Really this was an examination of love in all its forms - well, not all of them, but we do get about four to concentrate on, first the teens, then the more mature, though still youngish, couple of Burns and Susan Hampshire who Geoff seeks to rekindle his old flame of desire with, next Mel Ferrer and Joanna Shimkus in a May to December arrangement, and finally Philippe Noiret and Britt Ekland.
They were more May to September, and their story was apparently intended to be humorous, but the others were utterly sincere and striving for a sophistication that in French might have been just within the film’s reach. In English, on the other hand, while this was perfectly diverting on the whole, it came across as a shade too artificial in its construction, and that dialogue was never really believable as the way people talked, not even in the movies. The time periods were a little difficult to pin down as well, as there was not much to indicate when they were taking place aside from the presence of World War II Nazis in the third segment, which nobody remarked upon and were not depicted as any kind of threat to Paris or the affairs.
There was a caption, "Before the War", in the opening titles, but it did not specify which war and one of them was unfolding during a war, yet that nebulous quality appeared to be a conscious decision and worked in its favour. The first section had a satisfying wrap up, anyway, though Shimkus (who retired to become Lady Sidney Poitier after making this) was to all appearances left high and dry in her story as Ferrer, well into his European era by now, gets embarrassed about having such a young girlfriend. After that, the unlikely pairing of Ekland and Noiret was most memorable for the running joke about three different households giving him a huge plate of oysters to eat, one after the other. If the thought of consuming even one of those shellfish made you queasy, then you would be best advised to think about something else as this played out. Director Christopher Miles had a good eye for the picturesque, and included a little female nudity as if to prove how Continental it was posing as, but overall it was more a nice try than a triumph.
[Network release Time for Loving on Blu-ray with interviews with Miles and Hampshire and two equally rare short films he directed, The Six-Sided Triangle and Rhythm 'n' Greens. Click here for an article on the shorts.]
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| Reviewer: |
Graeme Clark
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