Although directed by the great Alain Resnais, Private Fears in Public Places nevertheless remains an uninvolving and impenetrable piece of work.
Transposed from Alan Ayckbourn's London-based play to the big screen and the snowy streets of Paris, Private Fears is, apparently, a comedy of manners about seven disparate people on the lookout for happiness. Where the humour is hiding is anyone's guess.
Talky (about tedious subject matter), downbeat and downright depressing, Private Fears ' theatrical history betrays this attempt at a cinema adaptation: the dialogue is stilted, the performances stagy and there are frequent overly dramatic pauses that are accompanied by inappropriately swelling music.
More reminiscent of a Family Affairs type soap opera than high art, the interconnecting characters contend with such grand themes as solitude, isolation and a half-wiped videocassette – one-part Songs of Praise , one-part thongs of praise – all through a series of staccato, short scenes loosely tied together by (symbolic for sure) steadily falling snow.
Languid and long-winded, Private Fears has nothing particularly revelatory to offer or many moments of interest to hold the attention during its overlong runtime of 120 minutes. There are a couple of interestingly creative visual touches and the – off-screen – cantankerous character of Arthur (Claude Rich) elicits a wry smile at his brazen rudeness, but by the time it reaches its denouement don't be surprised if you've lost your focus on the film altogether.
One star out of five