Le Divorce is a fast-paced, effervescent adaptation of Diane Johnson’s novel of manners, featuring two American sisters abroad. The aptly named Isabel Walker (in homage to Henry James) arrives in Paris to visit her pregnant sister, Roxie, who has married into a French family. As Roxie’s marriage disintegrates, Isabel begins a love affair with an older Frenchman, and becomes more chic with each passing night. As adventurous as Isabel Archer, Isabel Walker experiences culture clash when her American impulsiveness conflicts with French “cultivation” (translate as, “keeping up family appearances”).


• Written by Ivory and Ruth Prawer Jhabvala, based on the book by Diane Johnson. Photographed by Pierre Lhomme. With Kate Hudson, Naomi Watts, Stockard Channing, Glenn Close. (117 mins, Color, 35mm, From 20th Century Fox)