Review: Fascinating and Bold, 'Jane By Charlotte' Explores Mother/Daughter Relationships

Actor Charlotte Gainsbourg shares a fascinating look at her mother and their relationship in the 90-minute documentary "Jane by Charlotte," mostly in French with English subtitles. The piece is extremely French, full of wistfulness and ennui, which at first feels indulgent due to their privilege, but morphs into a deep look at mothers and daughters, women and aging.

Both middle, "more agile," children, Charlotte and her mother Jane Birken spend time together to recollect their intertwined memories. Jane was born in England, and her beauty propelled her into modeling at a young age, then to acting and singing. She married a series of prominent older men, including Charlotte's dad, Serge Gainsbourg, a famous French musician. Together, they sang (and sexually sighed) the then-scandalous song "Je T'aime... Moi Non Plus," which Serge had originally penned for Brigitte Bardot.

Luxury designers at Hermès also considered Jane a muse, and named a pricey, famous rectangular "mom bag" after her, and she recounts that being photographed during her modeling heyday was stimulating. She reflects on aging and wrinkles, saying she now prefers to take off her glasses so that everything is blurry. Charlotte works with her mom to clean the house, a "kind house," where Jane admits she can't throw anything away, from a "depressing accumulation of dead batteries" to some bitter feelings about past life choices.

The pair visits New York City for a staged performance together, where they also reminisce about previous trips and lives there. Jane says she no longer gets stage fright since the invention of the TelePrompTer. Back in France, they travel to Brest to pick up a new bulldog puppy, and Jane observes that "dogs are with you all the time, more than children. And they live for you. They're a gift from heaven, truly." In an almost unbelievable sequence, they walk through Serge's Paris house, untouched since his death 30 years ago, remembering what they did in each room among the familial relics like cans of food, bottles of medicine, and perfume that remain untouched. The property recently opened as a museum.

This documentary is a museum of sorts, too, showing how Jane and Charlotte's relationship grew, and sometimes faltered after family tragedies, eventually reuniting because "girls come back, no matter their age, they come back," notes Jane. The filmmaking is simple, yet effective, with Charlotte sometimes shooting low angles of them cooking together, such as salting chicken behind an artichoke on a countertop, then drinking wine in fancy glasses during a wind tempest while seaside. Jane paints astute motherly recaps as well, noting that "going on vacation alone is boring." Sweet and melancholic, lovely and mournful.

These privileged women are still badasses, surviving sleeping pill addictions, among other health issues (because of which Jane can no longer drink pamplemousse [grapefruit] juice, as it interferes with her treatment), and ongoing grief for loss of relationships.

Charlotte also muses about creating this film, her first, and strives to "build as you go along," implementing an eclectic mix of current interviews using modern and clunky, old-school cameras, mixed with home movie footage and still photos, plus stylish and bold music.

"Jane by Charlotte" opens in select theaters on March 18.