This needs less cliches and more authenticity.

We begin with the credits designed on different colored floor bricks almost in a “Partridge Family” palette, we get a relaxing view of the beaches in the south of France, and there’s even a towel with lots of sea shells sitting on it. That towel shot looks like something out of a Wes Anderson movie. The cinematography was done by Maximilian Pittner, whose credits include “Harka,” and a variety of short films and music videos.

Despite the title “Bonjour Tristesse” (which translates “Hello Sadness”) and the setting of the south of France, there’s very little French dialogue, and the characters speak English most of the time. And they act more American based on their choice of words and mannerisms, especially since the teenager Cecile (Lily McInerny) calls her playboy father Raymond instead of Dad. But that’s not really my comment on the film. My comment regards how much life there is in this film version, but very little substance and is more interested in the cliches than the authenticity. You are mesmerized by the performances, but you also also feel there should be a little more basis to their characters.

Based on Francoise Sagan’s 1954 novel, which she wrote when she was a teenager, Cecile and Raymond (Claes Bang) are spending the summer on holiday with his current squeeze Elsa (Naïlia Harzoune), and the young lady finds out that her parent’s old designer friend Anne (Chloe Sevigny) is popping by to visit. Of course, the more Anne stays, the more disillusioned Cecile becomes. She wants the teenager to study and not see her boyfriend Cyril (Aliocha Schneider), she thinks everyone is lost, and the tension thickens when her old man decides to marry Anne and not Elsa.

At this point, Cecile has better chemistry with Elsa, who believes in the philosophy: “I like to see things coming.” She also says: “He loves her. She loves him. They have their past and the past is very powerful.” And Elsa is French, so she doesn’t need to follow as much American movie cliches.

You know what? I’m pretty sure I reviewed another independent film called “The Trouble with Jessica,” which was about a dinner between two upper class couples and their uninvited guest who may have been one of the husbands’ mistress. She kills herself on the main couple’s property and sets off a bad chain of reactions, which not only includes dealing with the corpse, but also about the choices made in their lives.

The story is on a different level, but it does question a certain character in someone’s life. The young heroine in “Bonjour Tristesse” is trying to grasp with this woman in her life and how she deals with her is reminiscent of any teenager introduced by her parent’s new spouse. Should Anne qualify herself as Cecile’s godmother? Or should Cecile push her away?

This is also the feature debut of writer/director Durga Chew-Bose, who also wrote the book “Too Much and Not the Mood.” And this is also the second film version of the book after the 1958 movie with Deborah Karr and David Niven. Back then, we didn’t resort to much cliches as we do nowadays. Nor did we have headphones or cell phones. Not that I’m making another comment or anything.

I’m riveted by the performances from Sevginy, Bang, McInerny, and Harzoune, because of the life they put in their characters and how they try to resonate with the book. But I also think that the movie should cut back on the formulas and allow them to acknowledge the meaning inside the book more. I didn’t really acknowledge much after my viewing of this new version. I was more relaxed by the gorgeous images and characters than what the screenplay can provide.

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