Most of the recent romantic comedies rely on tried-and-tested formulas. This often leads to a predictable outcome and a clichéd ‘life-affirming’ note that feels stale and unconvincing. Their soulmate-geared approach feels dated at this point. However, Monia Chokri’s French-Canadian “The Nature of Love” (Original title: Simple comme Sylvain) puts a refreshing spin on the known genre conventions to present fascinating characters in a love triangle. It follows a married woman whose life turns upside down after getting into an affair with a charming stranger. However, the film feels particularly illuminating due to its focus on class differences and how they affect the central relationships.
Spoilers Ahead
The Nature of Love (Simple comme Sylvain, 2023) Plot Summary & Movie Synopsis:
Written & directed by Monia Chokri, “The Nature of Love” (Simple comme Sylvain) follows Sophia, a college professor, whose comfortable life with her intellectual husband turns upside down after she meets Sylvain, a charming stranger.
What is The Nature of Love about?
Sophia (Magalie Lépine Blondeau), a college professor, is married to Xavier (Francis-William Rhéaume). They are both intellectual bourgeois and brought up in privileged homes. We meet them at a dinner party with their friends, Philippe (Steve Laplante) and Françoise (Monia Chokri), who have an intellectual discussion about human evolution. They discuss how humans adapt and survive and seamlessly enter different streams of thought while also addressing the morality of it. You sense the culture Xavier was brought up in by his enthusiasm for similar discussions.
Françoise senses Sofia slowly losing interest in the discussion. Moments later, their friend Joséphine (Lubna Playoust) joins them for the meal. Phillipe accidentally spills some wine on Françoise’s dress, which irritates her. While Sophia steps out, Xavier asks Joséphine for her number. Joséphine asks if he wants it for love. Sophia notices that. While driving back, they discuss Françoise’s sudden anger and how it stems from being overworked and taking care of her work and the kids. Even though she & Philippe frequently have sex, they often argue as well. Xavier & Sophia do not want to end up like them, arguing all the time.
Sophia’s Desires
While at a gas station, Sophia notices two strangers passionately kissing each other. Back home, she and Xavier lie on beds in separate rooms. While she watches TV, he reads a book. She asks him about Joséphine and whether he thinks she is pretty. He deflects. So, Sophia asks if he will consider being with her if he & Joséphine are the two last survivors. Again, he deflects and notes how non-resourceful he is to be caught in such a situation. They both laugh. She understands that he is dodging her questions. Still, he goes on and on about a scholarly theory and the unlikeliness of their survival in an apocalyptic situation.
The next day, Sophia drives to their country house alone since Xavier bails on her, citing a conference he needs to attend. There, she speaks with Sylvain (Pierre-Yves Cardinal), a local who will help them with renovations. She gets overwhelmed looking at the sheer scope of work and gets emotional. So, Sylvain takes her to a lake and asks her to scream to let go of her frustration. Initially, she doesn’t scream, probably because she has never dealt with her emotions that way. Therefore, Sylvain screams as if his life depends on it! It gives her a push to scream. But all she comes up with sounds like a strange shriek. Regardless, they end up together in a bar.
Sophia & Sylvain’s Affair
At the local bar, Sophia hears an English song she loves. Since Sylvain cannot speak English, she explains the central metaphor about a barrier between two lovers. He reveals how much he hates the communication issues between modern couples. She gets attracted to him in no time. Once they walk out, it starts raining. So, he offers her a ride to her country house. After a brief conversation, they begin passionately kissing each other. Then, he carries her inside. For a few moments, she worries about the consequences of sleeping with Sylvain. Right then, Xavier calls on the telephone. Regardless, she doesn’t answer Xavier and has sex with Sylvain.
Xavier’s mother, Sylvie (Marie-Ginette Guay), grapples with her husband, Pierre’s (Guy Thauvette) gradual memory loss. Sylvie fears he is disappearing from her life, and she can’t bear the pain. Meanwhile, Sophia cannot stop thinking about Sylvain. After giving a philosophy lecture about the nature of love & desire, she returns home. Once Xavier leaves for work, Sylvain shows up at her house, and they have sex for the second time. After that, they keep meeting each other on romantic dates and having sex. Sylvain offers her what Xavier cannot.
Consequences of Affair
Sophia’s mother, Madeleine (Micheline Lanctôt) recognises a change in Sophia’s personality. Sophia admits to her affair with Sylvain but doesn’t think it will break her marriage. Later, while driving to their country house, Xavier mocks a couple for their behavior. Sophia finds his comment offensive & classist. Xavier defends himself and assumes that the couple is racist. Later, at the country house, they meet Sylvain. But Sophia pretends that she doesn’t know Sylvain too well. During dinner, Sylvie asks Xavier & Sophia about their plans to have a child. Sophia says they will wait for a while.
Still, Sylvie remains enthusiastic about a grandchild. Xavier senses that Sophia is not acting like her usual self. So, he checks up on her and asks if she wants to be left alone. She assumes he is asking for a divorce and ends up confessing to her affair with Sylvain. Xavier gets emotional hearing that Sophia doesn’t love him as before. That night, he sleeps on the floor. The next morning, he leaves abruptly. After that, Sophia gets into a full-fledged relationship with Sylvain and enjoys their impulse-driven romance. She also tells Françoise how much she loves being in a romance with orthodox gender roles.
Reality Check
Sophia has a meal with Sylvain’s working-class family. She feels out of place in their conversations, which she would otherwise deem inappropriate. Sylvain’s brother, Kevin (Mathieu Baron) insults his wife, Karine (Christine Beaulieu) and reveals his misogynistic side. Sylvain claims he is not like his brother. However, later, at a bar, Sophia sees Sylvain hug a woman and assumes he is flirting. He reveals that the woman is his cousin. It doesn’t put Sophia’s mind at rest. Still, despite her issues with Sylvain’s character, she keeps dating him. She also defends their relationship, calling his intelligence ‘earthy’!
The Nature of Love (Simple comme Sylvain, 2023) Movie Ending Explained:
Sylvain shows up at Sophia’s place to have sex. There, he notices Xavier’s coat and asks whether Xavier came to meet her. She refuses to let Sylvain decide who she can and can’t meet. So, they start arguing. Midway, she corrects Sylvain and treats him disrespectfully without realizing her classist arrogance. So, Sylvain gets furious and leaves her. Later, she meets her mother and cries about their interaction. Sophia defends herself for correcting Sylvain, and Madeleine agrees with her. In the same conversation, she talks about reading a book about apartheid. Both fail to see the classist undertones. Regardless, it takes a toll on Sophia.
While intellectualizing the concept of desire, Sophia meets Xavier and has a stimulating conversation as before. However, when he approaches her for sex, she doesn’t feel the same urge. Once again, she leaves him and returns to Sylvain. They have sex where she enjoys being submissive. With him, she starts exploring this other side of her. Later, at a wine store, she & Sylvain bump into Xavier and his new partner, Joséphine. Sophia gets a bit jealous seeing them together. Later, she & Sylvain go to Françoise’s house for a meal. While Sylvain is away, Sophia and Françoise talk about Xavier & Joséphine. Sophia feels jealous of Xavier for how attractive Joséphine is.
Does Sophia end up with Sylvain or Xavier?
Sophia meets her friends and family and introduces Sylvain to them. Unlike their progressive views, Sylvain’s are shallow, ignorant, and racist. So, he feels out of place in this setting. While others discuss complex issues, he struggles to jump into one of their discussions. Out of desperation, he decides to speak. He hears Arabian music playing in the background and mentions his racist views about the Arabs. While doing so, he ends up advocating for death penalty punishment. That’s when Sophia starts admitting the reality of her new relationship.
While trying to move past his embarrassment, Sylvain impulsively proposes to Sophia for marriage while others record their interaction. So, to save Sylvain from further embarrassment, she agrees to marry him. But both understand that she does that out of compulsion. It makes him feel even lonelier. At the end of the night, while driving back, he stops by a gas station. When he gets out, she removes her engagement ring and puts it aside. Then, while he drives away, she stays back on her own. So, at the end of “The Nature of Love,” Sophia doesn’t end up with Sylvain or Xavier. After her self-exploration, she ends up feeling even more alone.
The Nature of Love (Simple comme Sylvain, 2023) Movie Review:
Cinematically, Monia Chokri’s “The Nature of Love” feels quite similar to Xavier Dolan’s work. From her choice of camera movements, its positioning, and the length of the scenes to the intricate costume design & hairstyling, it seems inspired by Dolan’s cinematic style. The shots often linger after a scene ends and stay focused on the actors’ faces, allowing them to explore nuances beyond the script. This doesn’t come as a surprise, considering Chokri’s past acting collaborations with Dolan. Regardless, these similarities do not take away any credit from her.
In this third directorial feature, writer-director Chokri shows her attention to detail – be it in the script or the craft. She explores the thin line between love & desire in a fascinating and surprisingly unpredictable way. On the surface, the film may seem to be about just another love triangle, where class, upbringing, and lifestyle either become barriers or connecting threads. However, the screenplay fills this known premise with nuanced moments that explore relationship-related complexities with a refreshing approach. It is filled with clever insights related to gender dynamics that come into play in any romantic and sexual relationship. So, even its chaotic moments seem neatly orchestrated.
The Nature of Love (Simple comme Sylvain, 2023) Movie Themes Analyzed:
Love & Desire
As the title suggests, Monia Chokri’s film explores the nature of love & desire. After being in an unexciting relationship with Xavier for years, Sophia gets bored. She doesn’t want to end up like Sylvie, tending to her husband’s needs even after he practically forgets her without ever caring for her pleasure. So, Sylvain appears as a polar opposite option and quenches her romantic & sexual urges. However, she oscillates between logic and emotion, trying to balance her intellectual curiosity and romantic needs.
Gender & Class
“The Nature of Love” depicts its class differences through minute and sharp insights. They even reflect in the characters’ casual source of consumption. Xavier reads a book about the Trump era and loves indulgent intellectual conversations. Unlike him, Sylvain recites someone else’s poem to express his feelings about Sophia. He doesn’t understand English and isn’t interested in looking beyond his immediate reality as a white man. Still, his modest, working-class background teaches him things that Xavier can never learn from books.
Otherwise, the class differences become apparent through scholarly arrogance or blissful ignorance. Sophia’s interest in Sylvain originates from her desire to escape her upper-class upbringing and to lead a path dictated by uninhibited desire. Besides class, the gender dynamic plays a significant part in her desires. You see that reflected in the roles she settles to play in different settings and code-switches accordingly. The film critiques her or the others but doesn’t judge them for their confusion, which reflects a larger human truth.
