Goodness. At 166 minutes this doesn't feel like almost 3 hours but closer to 30. I'm curious what Rivette thought he was doing because at times it seems interminable and worse interminable to no real purpose. It's not hard to come up with reasoning and interpretations: The 20-something-minute train ride is a quasi-real-time exploration of the determination of Bonnaire's character, showing how she kept a fixed idea over a period that's usually elided. And again with the static, unedited shots of lab work, food preparation, etc. This seems to be more important than the story, or at least with a story this trite and founded on a "twist" that everybody will get halfway through the film the daily life segments have nearly the only interest. Jonathan Rosenbaum claims this is "fascinating throughout" but he's a die-hard Rivette-ean and may be more inclined to find value in even lesser Rivette. I didn't even find it fascinating for the first 10 minutes, which at least have that new-film promise, and the only nice thing I can think to say is that at least it's not 167 minutes.