Charlotte Rampling enriches 'South'

A tale of sex and tourism in 1970s Haiti, Heading South boasts another formidable and fine-tuned performance from the great Charlotte Rampling.

As Ellen, a 55-year-old Wellesley professor who spends several weeks each year at a beachside resort where she pays for the companionship of a strapping young Haitian, the actress delivers a richly complex character: smart, proud, independent yet achingly alone.

Heading South, which showed at the Philadelphia Film Festival in April, comes from director Laurent Cantet, whose 2001 French release, Time Out, followed a businessman who loses his job but doesn't tell his family. Like that small gem, Heading South is steeped in melancholy, and populated with characters who trade in self-deception.

Joining Ellen at the palm-shaded cabana, and competing for the services of Legba (Ménothy Cesar), are Brenda (Karen Young), an American in her 40s, and Sue, a Canadian similarly seeking a few weeks of surf, sun and sex. Ellen, as the hotel's guest of long standing, feels a certain proprietary right over Legba, but the happy-go-lucky Haitian boy also holds a special significance for Brenda, who first romanced him when he was a teen.

And "romance" isn't that far off: Although these women pay for their male partners, connections are made that go beyond the physical and the financial. In some ways, the quiet and memorable Heading South is a metaphor for the whole dynamic of colonialism: white Euros exploiting, but also engaging, the indigenous society.

Contact movie critic Steven Rea at 215-854-5629 or srea@phillynews.com. Read his recent work at http://go.philly.com/stevenrea.

Heading South *** 1/2 (out of four stars)

Produced by Caroline Benjo, John Hamilton, David Reckziegel and Carole Scotta, directed by Laurent Cantet, written by Cantet and Robin Campillo, based on short stories by Dany Laferrière. With Charlotte Rampling, Karen Young, Louise Portal and Ménothy Cesar.

Running time: 1 hour, 47 mins.

Parent's guide: No MPAA rating (sex, nudity, profanity, violence, adult themes)

Playing at: Ritz at the Bourse, Ritz Sixteen/NJ