This famous short story by Guy De Maupassant was first one of the three segments of Max Ophuls's "Le Plaisir" .It was highly successful although the actresses were too beautiful (Danielle Darrieux....)whereas Maupassant's depictions were not really flattering.
Ditto for Elisabeth Rappeneau :her prostitutes are too attractive and have physically nothing in common with Maupassant's characters .
That said ,it is above average MTV stuff .All that takes place in the house of the madam's brother's farm rings true: the sister-in-law eager to latch on to Madame Tellier's inheritance ;the vicar coming to bless the house and the Communion meal -and sipping a glass of wine at the same time;and above all the dreams of these women who are actually victims ;they tell us so :they dream of true love ,of romantic stories ,of something they'll never live .In this context,the romance (one of the farm boys falls in love with one of the whores he mistakes for a fashion model) not featured in the short story ,makes sense .And the ending,faithful like a dog to the writer's spirit (although very different from the funny epilogue "fresh cod was delivered " -the girls are back-) Elisabeth Rappeneau failed for the scene in the church;it must be very difficult to film it so she can be forgiven :the priest overplays and is almost unbearable whilst the prostitutes never find the right attitude .In Max Ophuls's work,although the sequence was visually admirable,I do not think that Maupassant's anti -clericalism was intact in the process.
A good TV work anyway with Catherine Jacob as the stand-out.
