AS MARIANNE Malivert, an alcoholic widow attempting to sell off some diamonds with a shady history, Catherine Deneuve does more than merely save Place Vendôme--she ennobles it. Jittery and exhausted, her large expressive eyes often staring off into space, Deneuve wanders through the first half of the film seeming to expect at any moment to collapse into coma. Even as she sets herself to selling the gems, shown to her by her jeweler husband the night before he steers his car into a lumber truck, her fumbling calls on old acquaintances only show her how much has changed since she left the jewelry business, and how little chance she should rationally have to succeed. Deneuve is, of course, never less than regal--she suffers bravely through close-ups of her makeup-less face as only a diva could--but there's a genuine fear clawing through her, as well as signs of a steely pragmatism that emerges more forcefully as the film unfolds.

Too bad not much else in Place Vendôme contains such surprises. Co-writer/director Nicole Garcia keeps the emotional temperature a few degrees below simmering, opting for plenty of near-whispered conversations and a cool, frosty look. The colors are all subaqueous blues and shallowly glittering gold, overwhelmed by shadow. Well, diamonds are called ice, after all; but it's taking things a bit far when the same chilly reserve is used even after the plot expands (not always logically) to include Russian mobsters, sinister machinations from De Beers representatives, and the obligatory haunting memory from Marianne's past.

The movie never does more than skirt around thriller territory; still, one can't help wishing that a little suspense would kick in here and there. However, Garcia (an actress herself) does know how to photograph her leading lady, and how to construct scenes around Deneuve's tarnished radiance. In return, Deneuve takes hold of the proceedings so authoritatively that every time she's onscreen, you're almost convinced this sometimes intriguing but ultimately unsatisfying little film is more beautiful and intelligent than it really is.