Catherine Deneuve's film roles are typically characterized by "a temperament at once passionate and inviolable" (GEOFFREY HARTMAN). To what extent, and in what ways, does this manifest itself in ONE OR MORE of the films you studied in the module? Catherine Deneuve is famous not only for her acting credentials but also for her beauty, having once been the flawless face of Chanel. She has appeared in various films that exploit her sexuality and desirability, but it could be argued that her characters are never one-dimensional. Hartman's assertion that Catherine Deneuve's characters display both passion and inviolability supports a conception of her roles as multifaceted but sometimes contradictory; Deneuve has certainly shown passion in her films (as Potiche's strong businesswoman) and her inviolability cannot be denied (as Repulsion's inaccessible ice maiden who degenerates into an 'angel-faced schizophrenic murderer' to protect herself from the advances of men), but does she demonstrate these two qualities at the same time through any of her characters? This essay will discuss the validity of Hartman's argument by referring to Deneuve's performance in Luis Buñuel's Belle de Jour, with some supporting references to other films in which Deneuve acted. To begin, let's consider the ways in which Hartman's point of view manifests itself positively in Belle de Jour. Day. This film places Deneuve's beauty in a "narrative that brings out the darkest implications (of her beauty)" as she plays Séverine, a young housewife remarkably uninterested in maintaining a physical relationship with her husband. In terms of free marital sex, it is absolutely inviolable. However, beneath her 'corpse-likeness' and frigidity, she hides secret masochi... middle of paper... rothel and it is here that her inviolability is shaken; it is here that he shows himself to exemplify "both French chic and kinky sexuality". Bibliography Austin, Guy, Stars in Modern French Film (London: Arnold, 2003) Deneuve, Catherine, A l'ombre de moi-même (Paris: Stock, 2004) Fischer, Lucy, 'Beauty and the Beast: Desire and his double in repulsion', in John Orr and Elzbieta (eds.), The Cinema of Roman Polanski: Dark Spaces of the World (London: Wallflower, 2006), p.76-91Thompson, John O., 'Screen Acting and the Commutation Test' in Gledhill, Christine (ed.), Stardom: Industry of Desire (London: Routledge, 1991), p.183-197Vincendeau, Ginette, Stars and Stardom in French Cinema (London: Continuum, 2000) Site web consulted Cinebeats: Costume Design, http://cinebeats.blogsome.com/category/costume-design/, accessed March 1 2012