We Won't Grow Old Together

We Won't Grow Old Together (French: Nous ne vieillirons pas ensemble) is a 1972 French drama film directed by Maurice Pialat. Starring Marlène Jobert, Jean Yanne, and Macha Méril, the film is based on a novel of the same name by Pialat. It recounts the end of an affair between a married man who will not leave his wife and a spirited young woman who in the end breaks free. At the 1972 Cannes Film Festival, Jean Yanne won the award for Best Actor.^[1]

We Won't Grow Old Together
Film poster
Directed by	Maurice Pialat
Written by	Tito Carpi Maurice Pialat
Produced by	Jacques Dorfmann Maurice Pialat Jean-Pierre Rassam
Starring	Marlène Jobert Jean Yanne
Cinematography	Luciano Tovoli
Edited by	Bernard Dubois Arlette Langmann
Distributed by	Les Films Corona
Release date	3 May 1972 (1972-05-03)
Running time	110 minutes
Country	France
Language	French

Plot

For six years Jean has been having an affair with Catherine. At the beginning she hoped he would divorce his wife and marry her. But disillusion with the lack of progress in his life and in their relationship, together with growing despair at the waste of her life, has set in. She meets a divorced man with a good job who likes foreign travel, and agrees to marry him. Her family, who supported her through her deepening unhappiness, are delighted. Her rival gone, Jean's wife hints at reconciliation.

Cast

• Marlène Jobert as Catherine
• Jean Yanne as Jean
• Macha Méril as Françoise
• Harry-Max as Jean's father
• Christine Fabréga as Catherine's mother
• Jacques Galland as Catherine's father
• Patricia Pierangeli as Annie
• Maurice Risch as Michel

Home media

We Won't Grow Old Together was released on DVD and Blu-ray by Kino Lorber on 8 August 2014.^[2]

Reception

On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds a score of 100%, based on nine reviews, with an average rating of 8.2 out of 10.^[3]

The film's re-issue was penned by critics. New York Magazine wrote "It's deeply upsetting, featuring the kind of emotional brutality we just don't see in movies anymore."^[4]

Praising the director, The New Yorker's Richard Brody wrote "Pialat captures the push-and-pull of their impossible relationship with pugnacious images and abrupt editing."^[5]