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Life Can Begin in the Middle

One of the traits of films made in places other than the United States that I enjoy is that the characters aren't clearly designated as good or evil, as often happens in American films. To be fair, good American films can also achieve the same. Perhaps my impression is influenced by my being more likely to be exposed to quality films from outside of America, while I see more American films that happen to be garbage. I suppose it could also be the plethora of superhero and cartoonish American films where it's acceptable or even necessary to have good fighting evil to save our galaxy.

Martin Provost's "The Midwife", is essentially a two-women show that could also work as a play. Catherine Frot and the legendary Catherine Deneuve star as Claire and Béatrice, respectively. Claire is a middle-aged midwife who lives a mostly solitary existence. She has a son in medical school, but we only see a little bit of him. Claire goes to work and gets along just fine with her co-workers and patients and in her spare time she grows vegetables at a community garden. That totally covers the life of Claire. It's not a roller coaster ride of thrills.

Everything changes for Claire when Béatrice drops into her life. Béatrice is about twenty-five years older than Claire, but she lives life at a far more frantic pace. She's a drinker, smoker, gambler, non-meat-eater, and has quite the history of carousing. We quickly learn that the two ladies share some history. Provost takes a long time to clear up their exact relationship, but we are sure that Béatrice once left Claire's father, who then committed suicide.

Claire detests that Béatrice has-re-appeared, but we understand that no matter how much Claire protests, somewhere she has a bit of a soft spot for her. Add in that Béatrice has a brain tumor that might kill her and you know that they will forge something of a bond out of it.

The two women grow closer and Béatrice's personality, despite of all her flaws, has a positive effect on Claire. A man who works in an adjacent plot at the community garden has expressed interest in Claire. Claire has pretty much shut down his attempts at a relationship, but after Béatrice moves in with Claire, everything changes. Claire starts wearing lipstick and dressing a little bit less conservatively. The garden romance begins to flower.

"The Midwife" is not action-packed. It's not particularly dramatic or funny. But it is pleasant, and it derives its power from fine acting, particularly from Catherine Deneuve. It won't knock your socks off, but it is quietly ingratiating, and sometimes that's enough.