... as it beats you over the head with its premise that marriage (life?) is boring. While many reviewers here have used words like masterpiece to describe it, La Notte is a one-note song played over and over again for more than 2 hours by director Michelangelo Antonioni. The film could easily run 90 minutes (or less) and still make its point.The first half features several long, largely dialogue-less scenes of the married couple (Marcello Mastroianni and Jeanne Moreau) meandering, separately or together, to show that they're obviously bored with each other and probably life in general. This transitions into "the night" which starts at a nightclub featuring an unusual 'acrobatic' performer, whose 'feats' with a wine glass are seemingly endless.The rest takes place during a socialite party at the expansive estate of a wealthy capitalist. As a successful writer, Mastroianni's character is deemed an intellectual among the businessmen in attendance, and a catch among the women. Moreau is less social, more of a loner really, who resists the temptations of dalliances, unlike her husband.

Very beautiful photography, excellent acting, very melancholic and even depressing atmosphere... It's a very sad, cold and disillusioned description of how a couple look like when love is gone, in a post-war society where money and idleness have replaced traditional Christian values. I was somewhat upset by the very conceptual (too?)and intellectual treatment of the subject. And I was so much contaminated by Jeanne Moreau's spleen and bother(thanks to hear great acting) that it ended up as a rather unpleasant experience for me. But it was definitely worth watching even if I clearly prefer "l'avventura" and "l'eclisse".

This film is unusual in that it features a long-married couple who speak with focus, psychological insight, and continuity about their troubled relationship.Lidia (Jeanne Moreau) is illusion-less and deeply depressed, while Valentina (Monica Vitti) is the pretty, young 18-year-old whose vitality attracts Lidia's husband, Giovanni (Marcel Mastroianni).Lidia mourns the death of a man who had appreciated her for her complexity -- yet she'd resented his attentions. ("I wasn't interested; I was concerned with my problems.") "His affection irritated me and flattered you," Lidia recalls. So she went ahead and married Giovanni.The never-more-handsome Mastroianni surprises at times with his depth. He's attracted to Valentina -- "I start to talk, and love disappears" -- but equally drawn to the dark beauty and brooding of his spouse. The couple's final, sprawling scene in the grass is powerful.Accompanied by a wonderful jazz score.

I didn't have a chance to watch the movie until this year, at the Berlin International Film Festival. They had it in their Retrospective. A very "real" life picture. Therefor of course there is not that much going on in plot terms. But that shouldn't cloud your judgment of the movie. This is very complex stuff, depicting marriage and the psychology of it or where it can lead.Of course the male view of things dominate, but you still get a feeling of both genders. It's a subtle approach and therefor will most likely not be everyones cup of tea. Still if you let yourself dive into the story and let the actors carry you through, you will see a very good movie.