La carrière de Suzanne

In Suzanne's Career, the 54-minute second film of Rohmer's group of Six Moral Tales, two friends, both students at a local university, vie for the affections of Suzanne (Catherine See). Guillame (Christian Charriere) is the more aggressive and the most manipulative but Bertrand (Phillipe Beuzen) goes along with his schemes and his character is not beyond blemish. Both scheme to have Suzanne pay for their good times and ignore her at parties to make her jealous while telling each other how they detest her.

There is a great deal of narration in the film and we are privy to Bertrand's thoughts and feelings as he sorts out for himself what is right and what is wrong. Suzanne is sweet but seemingly rather passive and easily exploited and we root for her to assert herself, and in typical Rohmer style we don't have to wait very long. This is a lovely film and, though it goes on a bit too long in pursuing its resolution, the ending is deliciously satisfying.

This is the second film in French director Eric Rohmer's "Six Moral Tales" film series. I'm watching the films in order, and so far I've only gotten to the first two ("The Bakery Girl of Monceau" and this one), and, out of those two films, this one is probably the most bland.

Trust me, there's plenty of positive things to be said about "Suzanne's Career". There's some pretty good characters, a nice love story, and some really interesting and artistic filmmaking/storytelling techniques. However, the film is, overall, kind of bland and, at times, even quite boring! For an only 55 minute film, it went by pretty slow, even if there were quite a few neat things about it along the way.

Overall, the film is recommended if you're planning on watching all six of the "Six Moral Tales" film series. Otherwise, there's no real reason to watch this unless you're a big fan of French/romantic cinema.

This is the second of the moral tales, but it's the last one I had left to see. I probably would have liked it better if I had seen it earlier as it covers a lot of the same areas as the later films but it's naturally less polished. It's clearly a very low budget film and the visuals are among Rohmer's most nondescript. Also, despite it's brevity it drags a bit in places. Still, in spite of these flaws it's a worthwhile addition to the Rohmer canon.

The film itself is about two male college students. Guillame is the leader here. He is also a real jerk, similar to the stereotypical frat boy today. This is the type of person who comes from a privileged background but is still quite ignorant in spite of his advantages. Since he is clearly lacking intelligence but seems affable enough, this type of guy gets treated well by people who don't realize that he has just enough cunning to take advantage of their kindness and screw them over. So naturally he uses and abuses everyone around him. This includes his pathetic, spineless sidekick, Bertrand, and their mutual love interest/dumping ground Suzanne. The film is narrated by Bertrand who is something of a non-entity.

Suzanne is a decent looking girl with a steady job but she doesn't have enough money to attend college full time. Because she is not beautiful and also because of the aforementioned lack of funds she allows herself to be used by Bertrand and Guillame. It's clear she cares more about them than they do about her and she ends up wasting her hard earned money on the boys.

The twist here is that eventually Suzanne gets tired of the boys and moves on to better things while they stay the same. Despite coming from a lower social standing she ends equal to them and thus exposes their aimless apathy. Of course, Suzanne is not perfect either. The film's title suggests that her goals from the beginning might have been different than they seemed.

This is the second of the moral tales. Rohmer is a bit of an acquired taste. For me, it's that the characters are often unlikeable or weak. In this one, Suzanne is a young woman, enamored with Gillaume, a self centered bad boy Jerk who uses his friends. She is continually mistreated by this guy, and, of course, goes back to him. Bertrand, the feckless other man, Gillaume's friend, is taken with Suzanne and has a seemingly hopeless, puppy-like relationship with her. She pays when they go out, draining her resources. But she is actually using him. What happens is inconsequential. Rohmer is practicing his craft, developing characters, playing them against each other, and keeping out of it. When people meet, they engage in boring conversations. They are so introspective that we wish something would happen, but nothing really does. Just look at these people and enjoy the mastery of a director who knows how to make them real.

The MO is the same the usual suspects in place in Erich Rohmer's second of his six moral tales. Lifeless amateur actors, cinematic style sacrificed for literary interior monologues about blasé people leading unremarkable lives. Suzanne is basically a three character story told by Bertrand, a bit of a self righteous twerp who remains conflicted about his feelings for the innocent and gullible Susan and his relationship with the amoral Guillaume who exploits Susan. Both men have a low opinion of Susan who in part brings it on herself by allowing the men to use her for her money and in the case of the rakish Guillaume for sex as well.

More concerned with character than plot, Rohmer gives us healthy servings of pettiness, ego, condescension and denial served up by a self absorbed threesome blind to every one's view but their own. Less than an hour long (Rohmer time) the pace is still slow and the characters repetitious bad habits irritating but if one remains patient is rewarded with an ending rich in truth.

While the more polished, bigger budgeted and lengthier later tales such as Claire's Knee and Love in the Afternoon have a more professional patina about them Susann sans all these trappings is still told in the same Rohmer unique way.

The films of Erich Rohmer are an acquired taste. In Night Moves (75), a hard boiled private investigator played by Gene Hackman says viewing a Rohmer film is like watching paint dry. For twenty years I agreed with this assessment. I may still, but once dried and finished I now see a work of interesting art that is both challenging and pure.

Susanne is an interesting sketch but for those unfamiliar with Rohmer, I would recommend any of the last three of the six tales first for their accessibility. Watch one and if it doesn't agree with you, wait ten to twenty years and try again. In Rohmer's case patience is a necessity.