L'Amant double

{{Infobox film

| name = L'Amant double

| image = L'Amant Double.jpg

| caption = Theatrical release poster

| director = François Ozon

| screenplay = François Ozon

| based_on = {{based on|Lives of the Twins|Joyce Carol Oates}}

| producer = {{plainlist|

}}

| starring = {{plainlist|

}}

| cinematography = Manuel Dacosse

| editing = Laure Gardette

| music = Philippe Rombi

| studio = {{Plainlist|

Mandarin Production
FOZ
Mars Films
Films Distribution
France 2 Cinéma
Scope Pictures

}}

| distributor = {{Plainlist|

Mars Distribution (France)
September Films (Belgium)

}}

| released = {{Film date|df=yes|2017|5|26|Cannes|2017|5|26|France|2017|6|14|Belgium}}

| runtime = 110 minutes

| country = {{Plainlist|

France
Belgium

}}

| language = French

| budget = €7.1 million{{cite web|url=http://www.jpbox-office.com/fichfilm.php?id=17066|title=L'Amant double (2017)|website=JP's Box-Office|language=fr|access-date=7 January 2018}}

| gross = $5 million{{cite web|url=https://www.boxofficemojo.com/title/tt6367558/|title=Double Lover (2017)|website=Box Office Mojo|access-date=29 April 2022}}

}}

L'Amant double (released in the United States as Double Lover){{cite web|url=http://cohenmedia.net/films/doublelover|title=Double Lover|publisher=Cohen Media Group|access-date=5 July 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180705234022/http://cohenmedia.net/films/doublelover|archive-date=5 July 2018}} is a 2017 erotic thriller drama film written and directed by François Ozon, based on the 1987 novel Lives of the Twins (also known as Kindred Passions) by Joyce Carol Oates. It stars Marine Vacth as a young woman named Chloé who discovers that her lover is concealing a part of his identity.{{Cite web|url=http://cineuropa.org/nw.aspx?t=newsdetail&l=en&did=326920|title=The Hunt for the Palme d'Or is on|website=Cineuropa|date=13 April 2017 |location=13.04.2017|accessdate=2017-04-14|archive-date=2017-09-30|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170930102549/http://www.cineuropa.org/nw.aspx?t=newsdetail&l=en&did=326920}}

Plot

Chloé, a dowdy museum attendant suffering depression and abdominal pain, consults a gynaecologist. She is told that no physical cause can be found and what she needs is a psychiatrist. She consults Paul, under whose sympathetic care she smartens up her appearance and reacts more warmly to people. In fact they have fallen in love, and they move into an apartment together. Unpacking things, she finds that Paul has changed his name and hidden his family details from her.

In the street she sees Paul's double who, she discovers, is a psychiatrist named Louis. Booking a session with him, he is aggressive and she leaves. Next time, he virtually rapes her and after that she returns for more. It emerges that the violent Louis is the estranged twin of the gentle Paul.

Louis tries to run her down in the parking garage after following her from Sandra's house. He has left a heart as a present for her, claiming it to be from his cat. (It's not)

When Chloé's pain increases dramatically, she is taken to hospital and undergoes surgery. It is found that she was carrying her unborn sister, a parasitic twin, in her womb.

Cast

Marine Vacth as Chloé
Jérémie Renier as Paul and Louis
Jacqueline Bisset as Mrs. Schenker and Chloé's mother
Myriam Boyer as Rose
Dominique Reymond as Gynecologist and Agnès Wexler

Release

The film was selected to compete for the Palme d'Or in the main competition section at the 2017 Cannes Film Festival.{{cite web |url=http://www.festival-cannes.com/en/actualites/articles/the-2017-official-selection |title=The 2017 Official Selection |publisher=Cannes Film Festival |date=13 April 2017 |access-date=13 April 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170413234941/http://www.festival-cannes.com/en/actualites/articles/the-2017-official-selection |archive-date=13 April 2017}}{{cite web |url=https://www.indiewire.com/2017/04/cannes-2017-lineup-list-film-festival-schedule-1201804813/ |title=2017 Cannes Film Festival Announces Lineup: Todd Haynes, Sofia Coppola, Twin Peaks and More |website=IndieWire |last=Winfrey |first=Graham |date=13 April 2017 |access-date=13 April 2017}} It had its world premiere at Cannes on 26 May 2017, with a simultaneous theatrical release in France on the same day.{{cite web|url=http://www.allocine.fr/film/fichefilm_gen_cfilm=252628.html|title=L'Amant double|website=AlloCiné|access-date=3 January 2018}}

=Critical reception=

L'Amant double received generally positive reviews from critics. On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds a 71% approval rating based on 91 reviews, with an average rating of 6.4/10. The website's critics consensus reads, "Double Lover offers kinky pleasures that should thrill fans of classic erotic cinema while adding some uniquely transgressive European twists."{{cite web|url=https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/amant_double/|title=Double Lover (L'amant double) (2017)|website=Rotten Tomatoes|access-date=5 July 2018}} On Metacritic, the film has a score of 70 out of 100 from 20 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".{{cite web|url=http://www.metacritic.com/movie/lamant-double|title=L'Amant Double Reviews|website=Metacritic|access-date=27 February 2018}}

=Accolades=

At the 8th Magritte Awards, the film received a nomination in the category of Best Actor for Renier.{{cite news|last1=Degré|first1=Michaël|title=Magrittes 2018: vers un match Streker-Belvaux?|url=http://www.lavenir.net/cnt/dmf20180111_01109607/magritte-2018-vers-un-match-streker-belvaux|access-date=16 January 2018|work=L'Avenir|date=11 January 2018|language=fr}}