Madly (The Love Mates) (1970)

The Love Mates (Madly) (1970)

Madly movie storyline. Julien (Alain Delon), an antique dealer and Agatha (Mireille Darc) appear to be a great couple, loving, caring and seem to feel complete with each other. Though Julien often gives the impression of being interested in other girls, she doesn’t care all that much and sometimes even looks like she’s encouraging him to do that. She also agrees that the beautiful dark Madly (Jane Davenport) will stay in their immense house. With pain in her heart, she discovers that he loves her very much, and that she will definitely take care of his happiness.

The Love Mates (French: Madly) is a 1970 French romance film starring Alain Delon, Mireille Darc, Jane Davenport, Valentina Cortese, Maria Schneider, Jean-Louis Le Goff, Pascale de Boysson, Billy Kearns, Carlo Nell and Van Doude. The film was a financial disappointment, with admissions of 508,452 in France.

Analysis and Box Office

A year after “Jeff” the couple Alain DelonN and Mireille Darc turns in this “Madly” which clashes with the production of the actor, to say the least. Undoubtedly to please the woman he loves, he produces this “Madly” supposed to be an ode to love for three in a France of the early 70s where all freedom smells good. It is still necessary to hire a good director capable of carrying out this project. Unfortunately it is not.

Roger Kahane sprinkles his film with ridiculous scenes: Alain DELON galloping on a horse, Alain DELON and Mireille Darc on a horse then the three protagonists entwined on a horse. It’s beautiful. The problem is not that this story of “modern love” is reserved for characters of new rich, but that the work does not dispense any emotion and especially no eroticism. The film is totally chaste. The scenes follow one another, distilling a deadly boredom.

Alain Delon wanted to change genre and goes completely wrong without it being totally attributable to him. Hopefully he and Mireille DARC had a good time on the set, which is not the case for the spectator. The spectators precisely reserve a correct reception the first week, to flee the rooms quickly, whereas the period of exit is however favorable with the successes. In the end, hardly more than 500,000 spectators in France. A strong sign for DELON which is much more appreciated in thrillers or action films. For Mireille DARC, a return to the comedies that suit her so much will be profitable.

The Love Mates (Madly) Movie Poster (1970)

Madly (The Love Mates) (1970)

Directed by: Roger Kahane
Starring: Alain Delon, Mireille Darc, Jane Davenport, Valentina Cortese, Maria Schneider, Jean-Louis Le Goff, Pascale de Boysson, Billy Kearns, Carlo Nell, Van Doude
Screenplay by: Pascal Jardin
Production Design by:
Cinematography by: Georges Barsky
Film Editing by: Marcel Teulade
Costume Design by:
Set Decoration by:
Art Direction by: François de Lamothe
Music by: Francis Lai
MPAA Rating: None.
Distributed by: Cinema International Corporation (France), New Line Cinema (United States)
Release Date: December 18, 1970

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