The Proprietor

Long criticized for their glossy period films that lack substance, Merchant-Ivory Productions continues in this tradition with The Proprietor, a nicely shot movie which can't overcome its structural and pretentious failings. Jeanne Moreau plays Adrien Mark, a famous French writer living in America who decides to return to Paris to buy her childhood home, though she's still tormented by visions of her mother being captured by the Nazis. Jean-Marie Besset and George Trow's script wanders aimlessly through various subplots, but never really delves into the issue at hand--Adrien's dark past. Question marks hang in the air, and neither the writers nor director Ismail Merchant answer them, relying on flashback sequences to drive a story that's never told. Not recommended. (L. Russo)