Dir. Jean-Claude Brisseau, 2002, France, 115 mins
Cast:
Coralie Revel, Sabrina Seyvecou, Roger Mirmont, Fabrice Deville
Jean-Claude Brisseau is known for his controversial films and Close Secretes, his ninth film to date, is no different. Opening with a strikingly sexual scene, Brisseau immediately grabs our attention and never once takes his foot off the pedal for two hours, in this explicit exploration of sexual power.
One of the film's themes is sex in the workplace. In the aforementioned scene, the workplace is a strip club, but we don't see that at first. A beautiful naked woman lies in a dark room on a red velvet bed. She is aroused and seemingly alone, but as her solo act reaches its climax, the camera pans round to reveal a bar, with several onlookers observing her intimate moment whilst sipping their beers. Among the audience is barmaid Sandrine (Seyvecou), a young and curious girl who tells us (through a retrospective voice-over) that she has become obsessed with the stripper (Nathalie, played by Revel), jealous of her self-confidence and eager to get to know her better. When the two women get fired later that night for refusing to sleep with the clientele, Nathalie invites Sandrine home.
First Nathalie teaches Sandrine how to climax. She gets her drunk, dares her to go to bed and then touch herself whilst she watches. Sandrine becomes enlightened, reborn, with a new sense of freedom. The pair start experimenting further, walking round public places in long coats with no underwear, and then move on to pleasuring themselves (and later each other) at train stations.
Next Nathalie teaches Sandrine about men; how they work, and more importantly how to work them. They hatch a plan to climb the social ladder by landing office jobs and then manipulating the influential male colleagues. The plan works well, especially for Nathalie who seduces her middle-aged boss Delacroix (Mirmont), takes his hand and leads him to his own personal hell - she flirts with other men first, then makes sure he catches her mid-romp with a naked Nathalie. So, roll on more sex in the workplace, but now we're in the office and we all know how inevitably messy that will wind up. Up to this point Nathalie and Sandrine have been pulling all the strings, but the tables are about to turn.
The two girls meet their match in the form of Christophe (Deville), the dashing young CEO who will take over the company when his father dies. On the surface he seems like the perfect catch, and certainly their quickest route to the top. However, rumours are rife about Christophe, about his treatment of women, how he drives them to suicide - curiously, they always set themselves on fire, and we never find out why. Christophe is the devil incarnate, cold and callous and obsessed with the power that comes from having absolutely no morals at all. Even incest is no barrier, as he appears to be in love with his sister, a disturbing fact which makes him even less attainable to any other woman. Suddenly Nathalie or Sandrine are not so powerful, and events become increasingly shocking and unpredictable as Christophe pushes his sinister force towards something resembling nihilism.
This is one of those 'what if?' films where things conveniently happen to allow somewhat ridiculous events to unfold so that we can learn something about the darker side of the human soul. The performances are passionate and credible, making the unlikely scenarios seductive enough that we give ourselves to them. It's well shot too, with some wonderfully atmospheric scenes such as the moment where Delacroix loses all power and self-respect, as Sandrine walks down the office, flirting with every staff member, whispering in their ears. It's a deliciously surreal moment, as he follows her down the corridor, utterly powerless and frozen with envy; a superb representation of the male psyche and its fragility when trapped in the web of a beautiful, dangerous woman.
Close Secretes was voted one of the top ten films of 2002 by the highly prestigious Les Cahiers Du Cinema. Whether it deserves that accolade is questionable; after all, it doesn't cover any ground not previously explored in Dangerous Liaisons or Kubrick's Eyes Wide Shut, and as a satire on sexual politics in the office, Secretary is better. But as an unashamedly far-fetched and darkly funny slice of voyeuristic eroticism, Brisseau's latest offering pushes all the right buttons and will leave you feeling satisfied.
Nick Jones
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