Rent A Woman Is a Woman (1961)

Book-Spine Boxing in Technicolour - A Woman Is a Woman review by griggs

Two days of a couple having a strop, going to bed angry, then waking up and deciding, yep, let’s keep this argument running. It’s a great little setup. The best gag is how Angela and Émile “talk” by grabbing books off the shelf and letting the covers do the shouting — “Monster”, “Get stuffed”, “Sardine”… childish, daft, and weirdly bang on. It calms them down, but it doesn’t actually solve anything.

Godard can’t leave it alone, though. He keeps giving you a nudge: you know this is a film, right? The music stops and starts on cue, people bow to the camera, Belmondo wanders in and casually name-drops Breathless, and Jeanne Moreau turns up as Jeanne Moreau. I get the point — it’s playful, it’s self-aware — but sometimes it interrupts the simple, funny rom-com that’s trying to get on with its life.

Anna Karina is the real hook: charming, spiky, and suddenly vulnerable when the joke stops being funny. Jean-Claude Brialy’s got that breezy warmth that keeps things from turning nasty.

The tricolour look is gorgeous, and the final “infâme / femme” wink lands. Not a masterpiece for me — but I had a very good time.