Confession of a Child of the Century

As the real-life lead singer in a group called the Libertines, Peter Doherty might have seemed the perfect choice to play Octave, a dissolute young Frenchman who falls for an attractive widow in Sylvie Verheyde's film adaptation of Alfred de Musset's 1836 novel. Unfortunately, his acting ability seems limited to looking forlorn, fidgeting, and playing with his fashionable hat. Even engaging actress Charlotte Gainsbourg—who plays Brigitte, the attractive older woman who rekindles Octave's emotional fire after he's been cheated on by a former fiancée (a betrayal that culminates in a duel with her seducer)—is unable to rouse him; their scenes together simply fizzle. To be fair, the fault isn't entirely Doherty's: Verheyde's adaptation is flat, depending overmuch on insipid English dialogue and pedestrian staging in which even the sequences depicting Octave's debauchery come across as ridiculously timid. The bland visuals—including some ill-advised handheld cinematography—and a tinkling music score only add to the general malaise, while the dreadful pop song over the closing credits ends things on a particularly low note. A pallid, tedious film, this is not a necessary purchase. (F. Swietek)