1967, 1976, 1989. At the peak of his career, Yves Saint Laurent worked and lived with the great characters of his time: the untameable Betty Catroux, the sweet Loulou de la Falaise, the handsome Jacques de Bascher, and of course Pierre Bergé. But while Bergé managed his lover’s business with a film hand on an international scale, the clothing designer still quietly battled his inner demons…

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Bertrand Bonello’s Saint Laurent won’t have a hard time distinguishing itself from Yves Saint Laurent by Jalil Lespert, the first biopic about the great couturier that was released less than a year ago, starring Pierre Niney in the title role. Less classic and more ambitious, this version by the director of House of Tolerance, starring Gaspard Ulliel, demonstrates its formal richness in just a few minutes, thanks to Bonello’s choice of staging – the care given to the detail-driven work of couture, the frankness of the sexuality. The film does have its limits, however, mainly because it doesn’t cover any new ground and it gets stuck in its awkward ending.