Shane and June Brown are an American tourist couple holidaying in Paris. Gradually, June becomes aware that Shane is visiting a mysterious clinic and decides to investigate it herself, although ambivalent about the merits of her fraying marriage. The resident doctor, Leo, has a similarly ambiguous relationship with Core, his wife, whom he keeps secluded from the clinic's clients...until Shane encounters her, one day, and finds the tools to possibly restore his marriage to June.
The film received mixed reactions from critics. On Rotten Tomatoes, based on 49 reviews, the film has a 49% rating; the consensus states: "An erotic thriller dulled by a messy narrative."[4]Metacritic reports a 40/100 rating based on 16 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".[5]
Variety wrote that it is "over-long, under-written and needlessly obscure instead of genuinely atmospheric".[6]The Boston Globe was more positive, but concludes by calling the film "a success in some sense, but it's hard to like a film so cold and dead".[7]
Later, the film developed a small following who admire it for its themes of existentialism and its unique take on the horrorgenre as well as gender roles. It was given an in depth analysis by Salon.com which looked at the intricacies of the film, particularly the metaphorical nature of the narrative. At Film Freak Central, Walter Chaw said, "Plaintive and sad, Claire Denis' Trouble Every Day is a rare combination of honesty, beauty, and maybe even genius."[8] The film has been associated with the New French Extremity.[9]
