Jealous

2017

1h 42m

Comedy

List

89%

Tomatometer

9 Reviews

An elegant literature teacher becomes bitterly jealous of her daughter's youth and beauty. As her newfound jealousy spirals out of control, friends, neighbors and colleagues become the target of her sour grapes.

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Leslie Felperin

Guardian

Viard, a gifted, protean actor who was terrific in the cop-drama Polisse and has done excellent work in dozens of French films, has incisive comic timing and also shows us a likable fragility beneath her character's bitterness.

Rated: 3/5

Oct 3, 2018

Full Review

Jordan Mintzer

Hollywood Reporter

The directors get much mileage out of Nathalie's toxic behavior, with Viard drawing laughs from what's actually an extremely sad, borderline disturbing tale of one fiftysomething woman's downward spiral into alcoholism, resentment and general misery.

Nov 21, 2017

Full Review

Paula Vázquez Prieto

La Nación (Argentina)

Jealous works from a character that does not try to fall well, or believe that comedy needs it to get the laughs. [Full Review in Spanish]

Dec 13, 2018

Full Review

Pablo O. Scholz

Clarín

Obviously without Karin Viard... the end result would not have been possible. [Full review in Spanish]

Dec 13, 2018

Full Review

Rolando Gallego

EscribiendoCine

A film that uniquely deposits its comedy so that it resounds with the audience in the form of laughter and reflection, empathizing with the character and reflecting on women, their daily life and position in the modern world. [Full Review in Spanish]

Rated: 7/10

Dec 13, 2018

Full Review

Robin Clifford

Reeling Reviews

Karin Viard is near-brilliant as the middle-aged mom who is showing all of the signs of menopause but is too self-possessed to understand her body's processes, never mind accepting them.

Rated: B

Oct 3, 2018

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Audience Member

An unsympathetic tale about a woman suffering a mental health crisis; the title itself is an accusation. Nathalie has a breakdown following her husband's departure and marriage to a younger woman. She risks becoming an outcast - a profound disgrace for this respectable bourgeois mother and professional. She falls into a pattern of saying blunt and upsetting things to the people around her - the jealousy of the title. She criticises her teenage daughter's youth, beauty and social life; she interferes in her best friend's marriage; she rages at the initiatives of a smart (younger) new teacher at the school where Nathalie teaches. There is usually an element of truth in what she says - truths that her family and friends don't want to hear; though the film ends up simply calling these her "errors". Hormones appear to be the cause of Nathalie's problem: the film stops short, but not far short, of openly advertising medical treatments for pre-menopause, possibly lasting for years. It would have been appropriate to write the character older, because the pre-menopause theme was needlessly unflattering to lead actor Viard. Perhaps the truth of the story was secondary to pharmaceutical promotion: it is common for French films to promote national industries. The film delivers a series of pitiless, semi-humorous or embarrassing scenes of Nathalie's social faux pas, while the other characters are irritatingly self-righteous and pure. The overriding value here is conformity with social norms of behaviour, or else. Somehow, Nathalie gets through her troubles - she swims, does yoga, makes a kind friend, starts apologising profusely to everyone, yet we don't see how she achieves this within her own mind and emotions. She just pulls herself up by her bootstraps. This film is not the sharp psychological comedy/drama that it promised to be. Nor is it feminist, despite its female focus. It's more of a rather ageist, blunt and nasty lesson for people and especially for women in Nathalie's situation - shape up or ship out.

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

02/15/23

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David Foenkinos

Director

Stéphane Foenkinos

Director

Karine Viard

Nathalie Pécheux

Dara Tombroff

Mathilde Pécheux

Anne Dorval

Sophie

Thibault de Montalembert

Jean-Pierre

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Synopsis

An elegant literature teacher becomes bitterly jealous of her daughter's youth and beauty. As her newfound jealousy spirals out of control, friends, neighbors and colleagues become the target of her sour grapes.

Director: David Foenkinos, Stéphane Foenkinos
Screenwriter: David Foenkinos, Stéphane Foenkinos
Production Co: Mandarin Films, France 2 Cinéma, StudioCanal
Genre: Comedy
Original Language: French (France)
Runtime: 1h 42m
Aspect Ratio: Flat (1.85:1)