Venice 2022: Un Couple Review

For Frederick Wiseman to continue innovating and creating decades on from Titticut Follies is, naturally, impressive. Creative minds have come and gone between his debut and recent feature, Un Couple. But those creative minds – extinguished and distinguished as they are – have more to say than this latest piece from the veteran director. Monologue-heavy work will never be a problem, it is the execution and style that must play into the hands of the director. That is the core focus of Un Couple, an adaptation of Sophia Tolstoy’s words and the frequent tenderness Wiseman hopes to provide and see-through letters of lost lovers, old flames and harsh truths that still linger. The human touch on-screen does not always make its way beyond. 

Its desire to tell of the heartbreak between Leo and Sophia Tolstoy and the diaries they kept are touching bits of history. Wiseman has brushed up on that at least. They are just of little use in the format he takes. Nathalie Boutefeu feels wasted and somewhat unsure of her role as thespian here. An undertaking of Sophia Tolstoy’s life and letters is no small feat. Her range is simple and fits what Wiseman hopes to achieve here, a placid understanding of love lost and the musing that comes after it. The tortures of reflection intermittently cut with nature clips that may as well be B-Roll footage for The Great British Bake Off. They are delicate and show signs of his documentarian skill. Should he wish to show that further, consider returning to such a format. 

That return would have done little for Un Couple, a feature that relies tremendously on the prose it hopes to display in a performance that is closer to theatre than it is to cinema. Are the two interchangeable? Absolutely. Un Couple is not the strongest argument for or against that though. Do strong and emotive words weigh out the need for intense and passionate direction? Boutefeu gives coarse and tense readings from time to time, intercut with Wiseman’s need to break up the text. Rightly so. A change of scenery can work wonders for a feature that relies solely on a monologue that, delivered in one go, would be a third of the already short running time. What mood Wiseman hopes to conduct with this is uncertain, but this is the master at work, and the master gets a free pass… 

A packed screening hall greeted Un Couple. Is that because Un Couple was short enough to cram in before hopping on the water taxi home, or because Wiseman is a respected legend of the festival? Whatever the reasoning may be, it is clear that his name carries weight. His latest film is not able to survive that crushing blow. Un Couple asks all the right questions and notes the big moments that will open discussion on the blows of love and how we handle it. Sometimes we do not. It scars and burns and that much is shown in Un Couple, it just does not feel genuine. We desire a return to the love that hurts and the hate coming from it, a burning passion that cannot be extinguished. Maybe we don’t want to waste that. Un Couple doesn’t consider that. Wiseman tries to navigate through a plain and uneventful piece.