Film

Le Divorce

Name: Le Divorce
Genre: Drama, Romance, Comedy
Released: 2003
Cast: Kate Hudson, Naomi Watts, Glenn Close, Marie-Christine Adam, Thierry Lhermitte

Drama

A romantic comedy about an American woman navigating Parisian sophistication, marital betrayal, and unexpected love. It's a charming, sun-drenched film that balances comedy with genuine emotional stakes, made for anyone who enjoys intelligent banter, European settings, and the particular pleasure of watching capable women outwit the men around them.

TMDb rating

2.5

If you liked this

Amélie2001

If you want Paris itself to feel like a character—whimsical, magical, full of small joys. This film shares Le Divorce's love of French eccentricity and romance, but turns it inward, focusing on one woman's quiet revolution.

But It's precious in ways that can feel cloying on rewatch, and the whimsy occasionally smothers genuine emotion.

Midnight in Paris2011

Both films are love letters to Paris, populated by attractive people discovering themselves through romance and European culture. Woody Allen's film has the same nostalgic, intellectual flirtation with the city.

But The male protagonist is self-absorbed to the point of exhaustion, and the film lets him get away with it.

Julie & Julia2009

Two women finding their footing—one in Paris, one inspired by Paris. Like Le Divorce, it's about female agency, self-discovery through food and pleasure, and the gap between expectation and reality.

But Meryl Streep's scenes vastly overshadow the contemporary plot, which can feel slight by comparison.

Not sure tonight? Get a pick in a minute, starting from Le Divorce

The wildcard

Something you would not have found on your own.

The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie1972

Both are comedies about the failure of marriage and family among the cultured and wealthy. One is a sunny rom-com; the other is a philosophical demolition of the same world.

A surrealist masterpiece about wealthy people trying to have dinner while their lives fall apart. It has Le Divorce's fascination with bourgeois manners, infidelity, and the gap between appearance and reality—but it's genuinely strange, dream-like, almost cruel.

But Buñuel's surrealism is obscure and wilfully obscuring; if you want narrative clarity, this will frustrate you.

The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie poster

Enchanted April1991

A ensemble of women escaping their lives for a transformative holiday abroad. It shares Le Divorce's gentle comedy, its belief in female friendship, and its sense that travel and beauty genuinely change you.

But The pacing is leisurely to the point of stillness; it demands patience and won't rush to satisfy you.

A Good Year2006

Ridley Scott's surprisingly tender film about an Englishman finding himself in the French countryside. Like Le Divorce, it's about pleasure, wine, romance, and the possibility of becoming a better person abroad.

But Russell Crowe's earnestness can tip into saccharine, and the plot resolutions feel gently preordained.

Sabrina1995

A woman caught between two brothers, sophisticated European wealth, and her own emerging confidence. It shares Le Divorce's romantic comedy architecture and its interest in how women navigate male entitlement.

But The ending capitulates to convention in a way that undermines the character development that preceded it.

Roman Holiday1953

The template for all romantic comedies set in Europe: a woman from one world finding freedom and love in another. Pure, intelligent entertainment that Le Divorce clearly learned from.

But Its romanticism can feel dated, and the ending prioritizes duty over desire in ways that now read as tragic.

The Devil Wears Prada2006

Another American woman navigating a sophisticated, European-adjacent world of taste and judgment. It has Le Divorce's wit, its focus on female relationships, and its understanding of how clothes and style communicate power.

But Meryl Streep's performance is so commanding that the film becomes about her and not about Andy's actual growth.

Breakfast at Tiffany's1961

A woman performing sophistication while figuring out who she actually is. Like Le Divorce, it's funny and romantic, but grounded in real loneliness and the exhaustion of pretending.

But Its treatment of its Asian character has aged terribly, and the ending is dismayingly conventional.

Scenes from a Marriage2021

Both examine marriage and its dissolution, but if Le Divorce is a romantic comedy that happens to mention betrayal, this is a tragedy that cannot look away from it.

Bergman's miniseries chronicles a marriage's collapse across decades with excruciating intimacy. Like Le Divorce, it's about infidelity and how couples fail each other—but it's utterly serious, filmed mostly in close-up, a masterclass in acting and emotional honesty.

But It's bleak, long, and offers no comfort or wit. Watching it means sitting with real pain.