I’m not really a fan of Angelina Jolie or Brad Pitt but I was intrigued enough by their new film to put aside my prejudices and see the film last night. By the Sea is set at a seaside hotel in the South of France in the 1970’s which is really what peeked my interest. (Although it was actually filmed in Malta.) The off-screen couple play a stylish married couple from New York who are supposedly holed up in the hotel so Brad Pitt’s character, Roland Bertrand, can write his next book but there is definitely more to this story. Angelina Jolie, who plays his wife Vanessa and also wrote and directed the film, said she is a fan of movies that make you think and this one certainly does. It’s disturbing at times and not for everyone but it’s a breath of fresh air in a sea of sequels and shoot em up movies that dominate the box office.

It’s also worth seeing for the cinematography and costumes. I love 1970’s French fashions and as costume designer Ellen Mirojnick told Vogue, “What you learn about the French sense of style is that there’s an ease and a simplicity, there’s an ease in wearing it. It’s not overdone. The cut is always beautiful; the finishing is beautiful; the fabrics are beautiful; and even if they’re inexpensive, [the clothes] look beautiful.”

The film not only made me think but it also made me want to clean out my closet and watch more chic French films this weekend which is what I might actually do.

Bon week-end ! 

HC