A promising start for ‘Chéri’

If it isn’t quite the unanimous chorus of approval one might have hoped for, there’s still enough praise for Stephen Frears’ latest film “Chéri,” which premiered in Berlin last night, to mark it as a potential 2009 contender in several areas — among them, Best Actress for Michelle Pfeiffer’s much-anticipated return to dramatic roles. (Thanks, of course, to the ever-diligent Nat Rogers for the heads-up.)

The Hollywood Reporter’s Kirk Honeycutt is absolutely besotted with the film, gushing that there is “no false moment or off-key note” in the entire production:

Stephen Frears never makes the same movie twice. What he does do though is make thoroughly professional and immensely entertaining stories that pay particular attention to characters, their flaws, emotions and deepest desires. In “Cheri,” he has another dandy. Whether it will travel as far as his last film, “The Queen,” is hard to say, but with a radiant Michelle Pfeiffer as his heroine, “Cheri” could well be another breakout hit.

The chemistry between Pfeiffer and (Rupert) Friend is positively combustible. One feels the hunger in each, the rising physical passion and emotional vulnerability in two people who, if asked, would scorn love as a human weakness. The film is in English, of course, but it can’t escape a certain Frenchness: Those who would mock love are done in by love.

There is also, predictably, much praise lavished on the film’s scrumptious-looking tech credits, with top honours going to Alexandre Desplat’s “nostalgic, romantic, melancholy score.”

Screen International’s Mike Goodridge has more reservations than Honeycutt, complaining that the film “fails to find a satisfying dramatic tempo or tone.” However, he is still ultimately won over, describing it as an “entertaining drama boasting a host of deliciously poised performances,” with Pfeiffer the apparent standout. (Beware a number of spoilers in the review.) The Times of London’s Stephen Dalton is of a similar mind, calling it “a breezy, bittersweet fondant fancy of a film,” and raving about Pfeiffer’s “magnetic and subtle” performance.

Now for the bad news. As is so often the case these days, it is left to Variety to rain on Frears and Pfeiffer’s parade:

Like a passable bottle of champagne, “Cheri” fizzes and slides down quite easily but lacks real body and doesn’t really hit the spot … Pfeiffer has elegance to spare. However, she’s not quite up to the nuances of (Christopher) Hampton’s dialogue or the inner feelings of a retired courtesan awakened by a spoiled, moody boy.

(Kathy) Bates is the only cast member to inject a sense of real bitchiness and vivacity into the dialogue, with her handling of lines to Lea like, “Don’t you find that when the skin is a little less firm, it holds perfume so much better?” an ongoing pleasure. As Hampton’s adaptation leaves out the reversed role playing between the strong Lea and almost feminine Cheri, the movie has the bloodless feel of having been sanitized for general consumption.

Indeed, there is praise for Bates across the board (Honeycutt, for one, describes her as “pitch-perfect”), which suggests to me that we may be hearing her name in the Best Supporting Actress mix once again. (Am I the only one surprised that her fine work in “Revolutionary Road” has been blanked the entire season?)

Still, it’s Pfeiffer, a previous Berlin winner for “Love Field” back in 1993, who is likely to remain the focus of attention here. A rare example of a Hollywood goddess who also happens to be a great actress, she’s the kind of star that AMPAS voters may regret not having awarded in her prime, so it’s possible they would jump at an opportunity like this.

Should she manage a second Silver Bear — not especially likely, given that European festivals don’t usually favour Hollywood stars — it’d be a major boost for her, given that Sally Hawkins and Catalina Sandino Moreno are two ladies who recently launched their campaigns early with wins here.

However, even if she doesn’t, the attention still marks her as a name to consider: Marion Cotillard and Kristin Scott Thomas are examples of actresses who rode their Berlin buzz all the way (or in Thomas’ case, quite some distance) into awards season, despite not claiming the Bear. “Chéri” hits the UK in late March; I imagine Miramax would want to wait a little longer on the other side of the Atlantic.