La Peau Douce

This 1964 romantic drama depicts the infidelity of a married writer and literary editor which he commits with a young stewardess – starting out as a fling but then developing into an obsession that leads to tragedy… Jean Desailly and Francoise Dorléac star in this subtle study of two people whose initial attraction to one another can’t conceal the fact that each of them is in fact only running away from their own unhappiness.

When successful and well-known writer Pierre Lachenay (J. Desailly), who is also the editor of a popular literary magazine, needs to travel to Lisbon for a business trip the domestic scene in his Parisian apartment seems to be one of happiness, what with Pierre chatting away with his wife Franca (Nelly Benedetti) and playing with his young daughter Sabine (Sabine Haudepin) while frantically contemplating whether his wife (by her own admission not a very good driver) should drive him to the airport or whether he should take a taxi. Either way, he’s running dangerously late and can ill afford to miss the flight, thankfully the unexpected arrival of a family friend solves the problem and they even take Sabine along with them so she can see the airport.
During the flight Pierre makes eye contact with an attractive stewardess (F. Dorléac) and gets the chance to pose with her after landing, with press and photographers waiting to snap pics of the famous author.

Another encounter with the stewardess in the lift of the hotel he’s staying at wakes his curiosity – she carries several packages and a huge gift-wrapped box. They exchange looks but barely speak. He also happens to see her room number. This gives him the perfect excuse to call her from his own room and to apologize for not having helped her carry her boxes and packages and by the way, would she like to meet for a drink in the hotel bar? Pointing out that there is no point and that it’s far too early to take a drink (it’s 1pm and the hotel bar hasn’t opened yet – what?) she politely declines. However, the following day she calls him in his room and apologises for having brushed him off so abruptly – this time ‘round she accepts the offer of a drink and the two meet in the bar later that evening where she introduces herself a Nicole. Fascinated by his stories about Balzac and so on they quickly establish a mutual interest despite the fact that she’s not the intellectual type – perhaps that, and the fact that she’s considerably younger and attractive, is precisely what attracts him to her though quite what attracts her to him (he looks like he could be her dad) remains a mystery… Before he returns to Paris they make love and she also slips a matchbox with her phone number scribbled on it in his coat pocket. Back again in Paris Pierre finds the matchbox while working in his office. At first hesitant, he then rings her and over the next couple of weeks they meet in secret whenever her job brings her to the French capital. As their affair becomes more intense problems arise as to where to meet for some hanky panky as Nicole isn’t keen on taking Pierre back to her own apartment because the concierge is a friend of her daddy’s. This entire situation gives the affair even more of a sense of the forbidden – the two lovers are like children getting scolded by their parents for some wrongdoing.

When Pierre needs to attend an important conference in Reims where he is expected to give a speech in front of literary luminaries it seems the perfect opportunity to take Nicole, who has a few days off, along. By now it has become evident that in the past Nicole has had a number of lovers and boyfriends but nothing ever worked out because “it never felt right” – can Pierre, a married man with a daughter, be sure that he is right for her? When they arrive at the hotel in Reims the first cracks begin to show because from the minute of his arrival he is in constant demand and needs to prepare for his speech whereas Nicole, the odd one out, begins to feel angry over Pierre’s neglecting her and accuses him of being ashamed of her company. Unable to get her into the event (seeing how there are people who know him he doesn’t want to be seen with her…) he suggests she go and see a movie while he gives his speech in the hotel’s conference room but the film is sold out and Nicole is forced to pace up and down the streets (couldn’t she go to a bar somewhere?) waiting for the event to finish. Fed up she creates a scene later on after a client of Pierre takes him for a drink – more hanging around for poor Nicole. “I wonder what I’m doing here?” she yells at Pierre later that night – indeed! Realising that they cannot stay in the hotel together without being seen he sneaks out of the building and the two drive along a country road until they reach a holiday cabin which they rent for a couple of days. It is here in the surrounding countryside that Pierre takes photos of Nicole in alluring poses. Later that day he decides to ring his wife in Paris to let her know he will be delayed by a couple of days due to pressures from the conference meeting – unfortunately Franca had already rang the hotel in Reims when she was informed her husband had checked out during the night. Angrily she accuses him of having an affair and hangs up.

Back in Paris Pierre returns to an almighty and utterly justified showdown during which it becomes apparent that things between him and his wife haven’t been right for quite some time – their marriage having turned into a stale routine, maybe due to the fact that Pierre’s job more often than not obliges him to travel around the country. Fed up with Franca accusing him of having an affair (the coward can’t even admit to it) he storms out of the flat and makes it clear he will move out for good and get on with his life without his wife - who is devastated by the break-up. Pierre then instructs his secretary to organise some viewings for apartments in Paris, deciding on a particular one which he intends to share with Nicole. As it so happens and just as he is about to beak the news of his divorce to Nicole she has a change of mind and informs him the entire affair was a mistake before bidding him adieu. Having lost everything, Pierre decides a drink or two in his favourite bistro is in order but worse is yet to come…

Admittedly, the plot is wafer-thin and certain things don’t exactly add up… such as Nicole having a sudden change of heart about her affair with Pierre despite the fact that she seemed as taken with him as he is with her. Also, why can’t Pierre admit to his wife that he is having an affair with a young stewardess named Nicole, after all, as far as he’s concerned their marriage has hit rock bottom anyway. Thankfully all is held together nicely due to the ever reliable Jean Desailly and star-in-the-making Francoise Dorléac (the sister of Catherine Deneuve) who, three years later and only 25 years old, would die a horrific death when her rented car hit a signpost outside Nice and burst into flames.

LA PEAU DOUCE (THE SOFT SKIN) is presented on Blu-ray in a brand-new 2K restoration with the following Bonus Material: Feature commentary / ‘Between Masters at War: Truffaut and the lessons of Alfred Hitchcock and Roberto Rosselini’ (18 min) / ‘Paris through the Lens’ (9 min archive clip from early 1900) / ‘Old Portugal at the Ocean’s Edge’ (1 min archive clip from 1896) / original trailer / illustrated booklet (first pressing only).