The School of Flesh
Perhaps only the French could create a movie with the sexual heat ofThe School of Flesh. International star Isabelle Huppert, a strawberry-blonde beauty with brimming blue eyes, is Dominique, a successful businesswoman of "a certain age." Quentin (model-pretty Vincent Martinez) is a bisexual male hustler half her age. They begin an affair after meeting at a disco, and their relationship turns toxic in short order--a compulsion that neither can shake, with negative consequences for both. Each is drawn inexorably into a hurtful game of cat and mouse, switching roles back and forth with every round. More than anything else, the film does a truly convincing job of depicting the exquisite pain of addictive relationships. It is impossible not to become drawn into the enticing energy of the affair--to hope it won't end, while knowing it must.The School of Fleshtakes us on an irresistible walk on the wild side.--Laura Mirsky