I wouldn't be surprised if Huppert faked her affair with the mysterious "lover" just to solicit her husband's attention. At the end it seems as if she had "forgiven" him and tries to win him back to their home. Her interpretations often grab the audience by the throat, leaving spectators often in a state of mesmerizing suspense, and I am using the word "mesmerizing" because of her ability to seduce and own the viewers' eyes. She is a woman who has a way with men, she makes them believe what she wants, she makes them want her and agonize over her, over her insane requests and behavior throughout the movies she stars in.After seeing her in some of her movies, I feel comfortable saying that she could have been a good main character in Ozon's "Sous le Sable", where the role of the widow is played by a phenomenal Charlotte Rampling (remember when she runs on the beach at the end?).

The aptly titled film "The Separation" scrutinizes the disintegration of the relationship between a couple (Huppert & Auteuil). That's it...no more, no less. Superbly acted by two of France's finest at the top of their game, the film has little going for it making it a fringe watch for foreign or French cinema buffs. Not recommended for general consumption. (B-)

An astonishingly accomplished film - Auteuil and Huppert have done nothing better. Auteuil's performance as Pierre is a measured descent into madness. As an ageing soixante-huitard with a love-rival, he tries to hold onto the idealism of his relationship with Huppert's Anne, succeeding only in compounding the confusion and hurt inevitable through his own unchartered humanism. Huppert is the perfect foil for this, a discreetly neurotic idealist herself, trying to conquer her own confusion beneath the surface and simply increasing Pierre's frustration. An acting masterclass.Vincent provides unblinking coverage of the story as it, literally, unravels. His contributions are subtle: Vertigoesque colour symbolism that informs the psychology of the story (he uses blue, grey and dowdy colours for the men and brighter colours, predominantly red for the women) and sparing music, only topping and tailing the piece with the theme of a suite of variations - a quiet but entirely apposite gesture. Its realism, violence, vitality and unselfconscious intelligence are supremely marshaled in what must be the finest French film I've seen. 9/10

Any person who has seen and loved Un coeur en hiver (The Heart in Winter) should see this film as well - it also stars the melancholic Daniel Auteuil. It's almost painful to see him laugh. A film that contrasts the bitterness of betrayal with the sweetness of intimacy, La Séparation delves into the anatomy of a break-up - the growing coolness, lack of concern, estrangement that can exist between two people who still are the primary characters in one another's stories. The couple is not married, but have a home, son, and life in common. Even as they discuss the thing that has come between them, the two cuddle; indeed, were the dialogue silenced for a moment or two, it would be easy to believe they were comforting each other. And indeed, they attempt to soothe each other even as they seem to rend their relationship beyond reconciliation. There is a great reluctance to separate, but is this because of love, comfort, or the fear of starting over? See this movie alone, and don't plan to go dancing afterwards. Buy a bottle of red wine on the way home from the theater (if you are fortunate enough to see it in one).