Bitter Moon is a 1992 erotic romantic thriller film directed by Roman Polanski and starring Peter Coyote, Emmanuelle Seigner, Hugh Grant and Kristin Scott Thomas. The film's French title is Lunes de fiel (a pun on the French phrase "lune de miel", meaning "honeymoon"). It is based on the novel Lunes de fiel by the French author Pascal Bruckner, published in English as Evil Angels. The score was composed by Vangelis.
Plot[]
British couple Nigel and Fiona Dobson are on a Mediterranean cruise ship to Istanbul en route to India. They encounter a beautiful French woman, Mimi, and that night Nigel chats briefly to her in the ship's bar after seeing her dancing alone. Later Nigel meets her much older and disabled American husband, Oscar, who is a failed writer—acerbic, cynical and jaded.
Oscar invites Nigel to his cabin where he tells Nigel in great detail how he and Mimi first met on a bus in Paris and fell passionately in love. Nigel relates all to Fiona. Both are appalled by Oscar's exhibitionism, but Nigel is also fascinated by Mimi, who provokes him. Later, Oscar narrates how they explored bondage, sadomasochism, and voyeurism. As a contrast to their sexual adventurousness, we see Nigel and Fiona meeting a distinguished Indian gentleman, Mr. Singh, who is traveling with his little daughter Amrita.
Invited by Mimi, Nigel, escaping from a bridge game, goes to meet her in her cabin, but it turns out she and Oscar have played a joke on him. Nigel wants to leave, but another session unfolds, with Oscar describing how their hate/love relationship developed. Bored, he tried to break up, but Mimi begged him to let her live with him under any conditions. He complied, but started to explore sadistic fantasies at her expense, humiliating her in public. When Mimi became pregnant, he made her have an abortion, saying that he would be a terrible father. When he visited her in hospital, he was shocked by her condition and almost relented in his attempts to drive her away. He promised her a holiday in the Caribbean, but he got off the plane just before takeoff. Mimi departed alone, crying.
Leaving Oscar's cabin, Nigel meets Mimi and they kiss. Afterwards, he finds Fiona in the bar flirting with a young man. She warns Nigel not to stray too far, and that anything he can do, she can do better. Nigel goes to Oscar, who continues his narration. After two years of parties and one-night stands, he drunkenly stepped in front of a vehicle by accident. To his surprise, Mimi came to visit him in the hospital where he was recovering from minor injuries and a fractured femur. Mimi shook hands with him, then pulled him out of his bed and left him hanging in his traction device. Having become paraplegic this way, Oscar had no choice but to let Mimi move in with him again and take care of him. She reveled in dominating and humiliating him, seducing men in front of him. When Oscar was desperate and wanted to die, she gave him a gun as a birthday present. Having experienced highs and lows together, they realized they needed each other and actually got married.
Nigel clumsily tries to woo Mimi, encouraged and coached by Oscar. Things come to a head at the New Year's Eve party, when Fiona sees them dance together. Fiona tells him that Oscar had made her come to the party. She goes on to dance erotically with Mimi, which culminates in a passionate kiss, cheered on by the other partygoers. A stormy sea interrupts the party and the two women leave together. Nigel goes outside clutching a bottle of liquor and screams his frustration into the wind and waves.
Nigel finds Fiona in Oscar's cabin, sleeping naked side by side with Mimi. Oscar claims the women have had sex together. Nigel grabs his throat, but Oscar points a gun at him and he backs off. Oscar shoots the sleeping Mimi twice, then kills himself. While the bodies of Oscar and Mimi are being stretchered off the ship, Fiona and Nigel, shaken, embrace each other. Mr. Singh encourages his little girl to comfort them.
Cast[]
- Hugh Grant as Nigel Dobson
- Kristin Scott Thomas as Fiona Dobson
- Emmanuelle Seigner as Micheline "Mimi" Bouvier
- Peter Coyote as Oscar Benton
- Luca Vellani as Dado
- Boris Bergman as Oscar's friend
- Victor Banerjee as Mr. Isaiah Singh
- Sophie Patel as Amrita Singh
- Olivia Brunaux as Cindy
- Stockard Channing as Beverly
- Yse Tran as Eurasian Girl
- Danny Wuyts as Bandleader
- Jim Adhi Limas as Thai Maitre D'
- Heavon Grant as Basil
- Geoffrey Carey as Neighbour with Door
- Richard Dieux as Partygoer
- Patrick Albenque as Steward
- Robert Benmussa as Flight Dispatcher
- Smilja Mihailovitch as Bridge Player
- Leo Eckmann as Bridge Player
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Bitter Moon (18). British Board of Film Classification (1992-08-07).
- ↑
Bitter Moon at Box Office Mojo
