AllMovie

An older man and a younger woman find love, with his time in jail the unlikely catalyst, in this witty drama from France. Gregoire (Fabrice Luchini) is a formerly prominent French industrialist whose financial misdealings resulted in a term behind bars, which was especially embarrassing for his brother Louis (Vincent Lindon), a talk show host specializing in hard-hitting investigative interviews. When Gregoire is released from prison, he returns home to the apartment he shared with his wife Agnes (Isabelle Huppert) and their children. But everyone keeps telling Gregoire that he doesn't seem the same; he seems confused, he has a hard time making himself understood, and he freezes up during a television interview conducted after his release. A puzzled Gregoire stops by the beauty parlor where his wife gets her hair done and, to his surprise, he discovers someone he can talk to: Stephanie (Vahina Giocante), one of the hair stylists. Stephanie's boyfriend was in the same jail as Gregoire, and was released the same day, so they have some common conversational ground; Stephanie finds that she likes talking with Gregoire, and in time she finds herself falling for him. Pas de Scandale was shown in competition at the 1999 Venice Film Festival and also at the 1999 Toronto Film Festival.