A Good Marriage

The first Rohmer I didn’t entirely like, but I guess it was bound to happen sometime. Between his Moral Tales and his Proverbs, most of Rohmer’s films end with the main character learning a simple, but clever and unexpected, lesson about life. And for the most part, the viewer takes away some new knowledge in the exchange as well. If such a lesson happens here, it’s that a girl shouldn’t bank on a rich husband, and I think we all learned that a century ago. And Sabine ranks up there with the most obnoxious heroines in cinema: Rohmer’s done that before, but I love Delphine in all her whiny, self-obsessed glory in The Green Ray. At least she owns her faults, and is searching for something real in life, and one can identify with her. Sabine whines, period, and never for a moment stops thinking too highly of herself. Bah. There is plenty of Rohmerian charm and lovely country landscapes, but there Sabine is to ruin every moment of it.