Mélanie Thierry Movies

A beautiful woman struggles with the three men who control her life and the one who has won her heart in this historical drama from director Bertrand Tavernier. In 1567, France is mired in a civil war between Catholics and Huguenots (early Protestants), and the Marquis de Mézières (Philippe Magnan) is eager to form an alliance with the Duc de Montpensier (Michel Vuillermoz). With this in mind, the marquis strikes a deal in which his beautiful daughter Marie (Mélanie Thierry) will wed Philippe (Grégoire Leprince-Ringuet), Montpensier's son. Marie is not especially happy with this notion, as she's fallen in love with Henri de Guise (Gaspard Ulliel), her handsome cousin, but she dutifully agrees to the match, and soon Marie and Philippe are sharing an estate in the countryside. However, Philippe is soon called up to fight in the civil war, and he asks his friend and tutor the Comte de Chabannes (Lambert Wilson) to look after Marie while he's gone. Marie is bright but not educated, and Chabannes is asked to educate her in intellectual and social matters; as he gets to know Marie, he falls deeply in love with her, but she's already divided in her loyalties between her husband and the man she truly loves. Adapted from the classic novel by Madame de La Fayette, La Princesse de Montpensier (aka The Princess of Montpensier) was an official selection at the 2010 Cannes Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Interpreted in some quarters as a (very black) deadpan comedy and in others as a straightforward drama, this grim chronicle of life among alcoholics stars François Cluzet as Hervé Chabalier, a booze-happy journalist who checks himself into detox at a Swiss Alpine retreat, and both confronts the depths of his own helpless addiction and meets an offbeat cadre of residents. These include Magali (Melanie Thierry), a young but far-from-naïve minx with a weakness for vodka, and Pierre (Michel Vuillermoz) , prone to bouts of loudmouthed drunkenness. ~ Nathan Southern, Rovi

Billionaire and corporate kingpin Nerio Winch has been murdered, and the suspects are innumerable. It would seem like nearly anyone might have had the mogul wacked, and things only get more mysterious when it's revealed that Nerio had a secret son -- a boy he adopted from a Bosnian orphanage three decades ago named Largo. But Largo has been accused of drug trafficking, and is being held in a jail in the Amazon rain forest. What seems like an odd coincidence soon proves to be the ultimate case of corporate intrigue. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

A romantic retreat to an isolated house in the countryside turns tragic for two former stepsiblings turned lovers. Marc (Vincent Martinez) and Leá (Melanie Thierry) grew up together under one roof. As adults they share the same living conditions, but as lovers rather than siblings. Their relationship defined by passionate cruelty, they shut themselves away from the world as they drift into a heighted state of emotion. When a violent windstorm blows in and a nosy boss shows up, madness takes hold and a sacrifice is made. But when murder is committed out of love, can it really be considered a crime? ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

Recalling François Girard's The Red Violin, Canone Inverso - Making Love is a multi-layered, multi-generational tale of music, fate, and passion. Based on the novel by Paolo Maurensig, the film opens in pre-WWII Europe, where Jeno, a half-Jewish boy, lives in relative poverty with his mother. His father, who abandoned his wife and son, left them with only a rare violin and a canone inverso, a traditional composition written for two instruments. During Jeno's (Hans Matheson) adolescence, his mother dies, and in the wake of her death, he is drawn to Sophie Levy (Melanie Thierry), a married, French Jewish pianist with whom he develops a close relationship. At Sophie's encouragement, Jeno applies for a scholarship to a music conservatory; there, he meets David Blau (Lee Williams), an aristocratic cad who becomes a great influence in Jeno's life. When Jeno is expelled from the school for being Jewish, David quits in protest and takes his friend back to his father's estate. It is at the estate that Jeno discovers a piece of music written by David's father that sparks a revelation about his family heritage -- and his connections to David and Sophie. ~ Rebecca Flint Marx, Rovi

On the 1st of January in 1900, Danny Boodmann (Bill Nunn), the mechanic of the transatlantic liner Virginian bound for America, finds an abandoned baby on board and decides to keep him. Nicknamed Novecento (1900), the boy grows up on the ship hidden from everyone. His presence is revealed when Danny dies in an accident. The young '1900' manages to hide again despite threats from the captain. Discovering a passion for music, he teaches himself to play the piano without being able to read the notes, and he soon becomes a virtuoso whose reputation spreads beyond the confines of the ship. Even the famous jazz piano player, Jelly Roll Morton (Clarence Williams III), gets on board for a challenge because he has heard rumors about the greatest piano player in the world living on a ship. The story is told by Max Tooney, Novocento's old trumpeter friend, who reminisces about the incredible pianist who never set foot on land. After two films about cinema, Giuseppe Tornatore comes up with the story of a highly imaginative artist who lives only for and through his art. Tornatore was inspired by a theatre monologue written in 1994 by Alessandro Baricco, and the film was shot partly in Odessa, on a sixty-year-old Russian freighter, and partly in the Cinecitta studios in Rome. Tim Roth's performance as the talented but reserved Novocento is remarkable, and the music of Ennio Morricone plays a vital role in the film. La leggenda del pianista sull'oceano, which was retitled The Legend of 1900 for US distribution after forty-five minutes have been cut, was originally two hours and forty minutes when it was shown to great success in Italy in autumn of 1998. The US version had its world premiere at the 1999 Locarno International Film Festival. ~ Gönül Dönmez-Colin, Rovi