Surprisingly watchable. Marred by mannered acting from all the actresses, although this is somewhat unsurprising as, well, the women are props to the men at a narrative level as well.
Is the title a reference to Jean Epstein's early work of French realism, La Belle Nivernaise (1924)?
Synopsis: The former famous painter Frenhofer lives quietly with his wife on a countryside residence in the French Provence. When the young artist Nicolas visits him with his girlfriend Marianne, Frenhofer decides to start again the work on a painting he long ago stopped: La Belle Noiseuse. And he wants Marianne as model.