A realty agency receives a new client in Nina (Juliette Binoche) who is looking for a cheap, not too small, apartment in central Paris.  Currently, Nina stays with "friends", men that will let her stay for the night, frequently in exchange for her physical nearness and sexual embrace.  Often she tells the men that she loves them in order eliminate questions and awkward moments when she stays with them.  However, it seems as if she merely uses them for her personal needs.  Paulot (Wadeck Stanczak), the representative from the realty agency receives tickets to one of Nina's performances and he learns all this from her as she leaves her current "friend".

The innocent and kind Paulot finds Nina very attractive and his feelings begin to build up within him.  This presents an opportunity that Nina seizes while Paulot helplessly does everything to save her from homelessness.  Through Paulot's noble attempts Nina meets Quentin (Lambert Wilson), Paulot's roommate, who seems to be a shady character with much emotional baggage.  This becomes obvious, as Quentin follows Nina to her hotel room, which Paulot managed to arrange for her.

Initially, it seems as if the story is going in every possible direction without thought or consideration, as Quentin stalks Nina and convinces her to do what he says.  First Quentin appears to be a psychopath with stalking problems as he follows Nina wherever she wanders, which seems to frighten her.  When she finds someone to help protect her from him, she ends up protecting Quentin.  Quentin introduces Nina to the world of sex theater, and eventually sways her to let him spend the night.  This diverging wandering in the storyline initially seems impossible; however, patience will reward the viewers with big dividends.

Rendez-vous turns into a contemporary psychodynamic version of Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet.  Nina is the film's Juliet, a part she also prepares for in a play while she is struggling to grasp the concept of love during her preparations, as she learns the emptiness of mere sexual embrace and the importance of devotion and tenderness.  The director André Téchiné presents the problems in the film through the results of characters actions, which displays immature blind obsession and hatred.  There is also a large portion of intolerance in the perspective of each character's feelings, as they all seem to put themselves first.  Rendez-vous offers loose adaptation of Shakespeare's teenage tragedy, which leaves the audience contemplating the notion of love, devotion, tenderness, affectionate warmth, and attachment as Nina plays her cards.

DIRECTED BY

COUNTRY

France

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