At the height of summer, 18-year-old Cécile (Lily McInerny) is languishing by the French seaside with her handsome father, Raymond (Claes Bang) and his lover Elsa (Naïlia Harzoune) when the arrival of her late mother’s friend Anne (Chloë Sevigny) changes everything.
Amid the sun-drenched splendour of their surroundings, Cécile’s world is threatened and, desperate to regain control, she sets in motion a plan to drive Anne away with tragic consequences.
An adaptation of Françoise Sagan’s unforgettable coming-of-age novel by the same title, Durga Chew-Bose’s “Bonjour Tristesse” masterfully captures the complexity of relationships between women and how they wield influence over one another’s fates.
I know that this film has much history. A man who hasn’t grieved his wife’s death for too long with a daughter and fresh girlfriend.
Then enters one of the late wife’s friends, and all hell breaks loose.
I love Chloë Sevigny’s work, but to me she isn’t pretty enough to play the object of the handsome father’s desires. She’s not as alluring as Deborah Kerr was in the 1958 film. It’s revealed that he and Anne may have had relations before she joined in on the trip and upended Elsa’s party.
Elsa, as the father’s beautiful, younger girlfriend, is finally shooed away, and I believe she has now clutched onto Cécile’s boyfriend—or was this a ruse to make Raymond jealous? There is so much going on, between the simple get-togethers, ocean romps and formal social gatherings.
Cécile can’t stand Anne, but eventually softens when she learns that Anne and her father, Raymond, will soon wed.
But I don’t think Cécile’s intentions were ever honorable. She still was insanely jealous of Anne and pushed back on Anne’s suggestions to shape her into a more presentable young woman.
I couldn’t really blame her, I find Raymond ruthless and inconsiderate in the way he thrust Anne upon his daughter. However, it seemed that Cécile enjoyed Elsa’s company. The dynamic there was Elsa didn’t present herself as prudish and high faluting. After all, Anne is a famous fashion designer.
I respect the holding power of the book upon which this film is adapted—and other remakes. The author was 18 when it was published in 1954.
Cécile’s sexual exploits and behavior seem a bit much—behavior that it seems her father doesn’t try to rein in. Oh, the youth! Her actions were controversial in the book, but 2025 posits an entirely different viewpoint on teen promiscuity.
Bonjour Tristesse translated means “the sadness.” That’s how I viewed this cinematographic beauty set near an ocean in Southern France. Sad that the two major women couldn’t seem to find smooth landings; as Raymond, to me, enjoyed his dalliances, with no concern about their tragic aftermath.
Take a look at the trailer: https://youtu.be/hgd4fHW3loM?si=3vRYLT6NXQIh_cq9.
A Greenwich Entertainment release, “Bonjour Tristesse” is available on digital nationwide beginning Friday, June 13.