Jacques Rivette's award winning, critically acclaimed film stars Michel Piccoli in one of his finest performances as an artist who, ten years previously, abandoned his masterpiece entitled, 'LA BELLE NOISEUSE' (The beautiful Trouble-
maker), a painting of his wife (Jane Birkin).
When he encounters the beautiful and fascinating Marianne (Emmanuelle Béart), he is inspired to return to the unfinished canvas, using her as his new model.
But disturbing tensions develop as the work progresses and the reasons for the painting's original rejection begin to surface.