Max Ophuls's penultimate film, this adaptation of the Louise de Vilmorin novel 'Madame de...' is a beautifully paced melodrama. The story concerns an 18th Century Countess and her doomed love affair with a Baron. A pair of diamond earrings function as a pivotal plot device, initially given to the Countess by her husband, they pass through a number of owners before ending up back with the Countess, allowing a satirical take on the superficiality and greed of the times. Ophuls' characteristic moving camera swirls through a fantastically lavish set, depicting 18th Century Paris society. A contemporary film critic, Andrew Sarris wrote at the time, "the obsessiveness of romantic love has never been rendered more brilliantly". This is a well-observed love story which offers a subtly ironic commentary on the narcissism of the times, a highly accomplished film.