Given the fact that I'm neither a Kate Hudson fan nor a Naomi Watts fan, I probably shouldn't have rented this movie expecting to like it. But I love Leslie Caron, and will watch anything she's in. Unfortunately for me, she was in Le Divorce and I had to sit through it.Kate Hudson goes to France to support her pregnant sister Naomi Watts, whose husband has just left her for another woman. While they battle through a very messy divorce, Kate gets involved with two men, Thierry Lhermitte and Romain Duris, and her callous attitude towards both is very off-putting. Meanwhile, Leslie Caron plays Naomi's snobby and cold mother-in-law, and Glenn Close plays an odd author, whose purpose I'm still trying to figure out.There was absolutely nothing about this film I enjoyed, and to be honest, I turned it off and didn't make it all the way through. People who absolutely love France and the French culture, or die-hard Kate Hudson fans might like Le Divorce, but besides that, I can't imagine most people getting through it. Although marketed as a romantic comedy, it actually gets pretty heavy as everyone's affairs and issues collide. If you do decide to watch it, against my recommendation, keep an eye out for Sam Waterston, Stockard Channing, Matthew Modine, Bebe Neuwirth, and Stephen Fry in small roles.

Isabel Walker (Kate Hudson) is visiting her sister Roxeanne de Persand (Naomi Watts) in Paris. Roxeanne's husband Charles-Henri is leaving his pregnant wife for another woman. Poet Olivia Pace (Glenn Close) hires Isabel to assist her on her tour. Isabel has a very French affair with the married Yves. A family painting given to Roxeanne is discovered to be more valuable than first thought. Charles-Henri insists on a divorce and splitting everything including the painting. Tellman (Matthew Modine) is the husband of Charles-Henri's mistress.Nobody cares. The only rooting interest is Roxeanne because she actually shows a beating heart. Charles-Henri is played with such a robotic unfeeling manner that it's questionable how they ever got married. Even Roxeanne as a character is destroyed after her suicide attempt. She does a 180 and turns into her family where she's sipping wine and discussing alimony with them over lunch. There is no passion in this thing that survives. This is a stereotype of two elitist cultures.The French are callous cold-hearted about love. There is no passion. Love is transactional. The Americans are almost as cold-hearted about love. They care more about the money. They care more about the painting than the marriage. Tellman is the only person with consistent passion and he's a madman. None of it makes for compelling drama. It's a movie about cold people that leaves me cold.There is a light comedic tone throughout the movie but there is no comedy to be had. It is an infuriating movie. It could have survived as a drama only about Roxeanne's divorce. I rather not spend any time watching the very boring affair with Isabel.

It beggars belief that James Ivory would conceive of such a film in 2003. It all feels like a soft-focus Eurotrash/American melodrama from the 1980s, with its soft-focus lensing and European clichés. The acting leaves a lot to be desired and is often very wooden and awkward as the European actors strive to be convincing in the English language - Melville Poppaud in particular is miscast as the cheating husband.Not even Naomi Watts can save the day. She is also miscast alongside her screen sister Kate Hudson. Both are above the material but fail to rise above the clichéd and mediocre script.Le Divorce is a pitiful embarrassment and belongs on 1980s TV as a mini-series rather than a fully-fledged feature film.

It is often that I read opinions in here. First as a cinema fan, then as a cinema professional. But these lines ("Little has prepared her for the consequences that go with it and the archaic laws about a couple's separation in that country, which benefits the husband while punishing the wife.") were more than over the top !!! Hos come you comment French laws ? Are you a lawyer specializing in French legal system ? OK, no stats here... but in about 90% of divorces men get "punished". They're deprived from they children's presence, have to pay a monthly pension, etc. etc. The tendency has changed for the last 15 years or so, but still men lose much more than they gain. So, please, stick to what you know... and stay away from what you pretend you know !!! And remember, fiction films are stories... NOT reality.