Love in the Afternoon

Plot

Frédéric, a young and successful partner in a Paris business firm, is happily married to Hélène, an English teacher, with whom he has a young daughter and another child on the way. Nevertheless, as Frédéric sees beautiful women pass by him on the street throughout his day, he craves the thrill of a fresh affair. He fantasizes about possessing a magical amulet that causes women to obey his will, but in reality, Frédéric does not act on these impulses and returns to his wife every evening.

One day, Chloé, a woman from Frédéric's past, stops by his office. Chloé had once been the girlfriend of one of Frédéric's old friends, whom she caused this a great deal of grief. At first, Chloé says that she only is looking for work, but continues to visit him to keep him company as she tries to improve her situation, often taking him out of the office—to the amusement of the secretaries in Frédéric's office. Frédéric enjoys having someone to talk to, having never really opened up to his wife in this way.

Chloé asks Frédéric to help her move out of a guy's apartment she had been staying with, leading to increased flirtation as she finds her footing in her own apartment. Frédéric hears of a job opening from one of the secretaries, leading to Chloé finding stable employment. The two greatly enjoy each other's company, but Frédéric rejects Chloé's romantic interest in him when he ponders what his wife would think. After the birth of Frédéric's infant son, he and Hélène hire a nanny. As the children get used to the nanny's presence, Frédéric teases his daughter by pulling his polo neck over his head and making a funny face.

Chloé tells Frédéric that she wishes him to father her own child whom she wishes to raise independently. Frédéric cannot see how he can grant Chloé's request, but becomes even more attracted to her. One afternoon, Frédéric meets Chloé at her apartment and finds her in the shower. At her request, he towels her dry. Frédéric begins to undress, pulling his turtleneck over his head and making a funny face at Chloé, who waits for him naked in her bed. Frédéric looks blankly at his comical appearance in the mirror. Without a word to Chloé, he sneaks out through a side door and goes home to Hélène. He tells her that he wants to be able to talk to her like he has been unable to do, prompting Hélène to break down in tears. They rekindle their sensuous feelings for one another and go to their bedroom.

Reception

On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 87% of 23 critics' reviews of the film are positive; the site's "critics consensus" reads: "Eric Rohmer's Chloe in the Afternoon doesn't need sparkly cinematic dross to discover unspoken, universal truths about relationships and love through filmmaking."

Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times gave the film 4 out 4 stars, calling it the best of Rohmer's "Six Moral Tales" series, and adding:

It is also the most fully rounded, lacking the one-dimensional tone of some of his earlier tales. It's as if he were striking notes in the previous works, and is now bringing them all together into a chord; the final scene in Chloe is his last comment on the series, and Rohmer is telling us to, for god's sake, stop playing games and embrace each other with honesty.

Vincent Canby of The New York Times gave the film a positive review, writing: "because Mr. Rohmer keeps his focus short, clear and precise, one sees deeply into the lives of his characters without the sort of pretentious distortions of most movies that deal in metaphors."

In contrast, Pauline Kael wrote that the impact of the film "had evaporated a half hour after I saw it. It's about as forgettable as a movie can be."

Legacy

An English-language remake starring Chris Rock, titled I Think I Love My Wife, was released in 2007.

Singer-songwriter St. Vincent named the opening song of her 2011 album, Strange Mercy, after the film.