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Film: I've Loved You So Long
Release date: 9th February 2009
Certificate: 12
Running time: 117 mins
Director: Philippe Claudel
Starring: Kristin Scott Thomas, Elsa Zylberstein, Serge Hazanavicius, Laurent Grevill, Frederic Pierrot
Genre: Drama
Studio: Lionsgate
Format: DVD
Country: France/Germany
This critically-acclaimed, character-led French drama scooped the BAFTA for Best Foreign Film in 2009 with prizes elsewhere for its writer and first-time director Philippe Claudel plus his two leading ladies, Kristin Scott Thomas and Elsa Zylberstein.
It is the tale of two sisters trying to rebuild their relationship after fifteen years of separation. Juliette (Scott Thomas) is haunted by the secret she hoards and weighed down by the guilt she carries for the crime that landed her in prison. Léa (Zylberstein) is younger and married with two children but is eager to bring Juliette back into the fold despite the risk of alienating her husband, Luc (Serge Hazanavicius).
So what has Juliette done - and why? Her shocking crime is unveiled as she attends job interviews, meets her welfare officer or signs in at the police station. Yet it remains unmentionable in the family home. “I was away on a long trip,” is her explanation as Léa’s daughter, P'tit Lys (Lise Ségur) innocently and enthusiastically cross-questions Juliette at the dinner table shortly after her arrival.
Léa’s hospitality and determination to shed her own guilt after being urged by her parents to disown Juliette is counter-balanced by Luc’s barely-disguised hostility – he feels he has legitimate concerns for his family’s safety. Juliette makes other more accepting acquaintances along the way – notably Léa’s colleague Michel (Laurent Grévill) and Captain Fauré (Frédéric Pierrot) – as she tries to forge a future in the shadow of her damning past…
The first thing to say about I’ve Loved You So Long is this: if you enjoy watching Scott Thomas, you’ll be in clover. Only Claudel can say whether he wrote the character of Juliette with her in mind, but it is undoubtedly a perfect fit. Few actors can convey so much while saying so little and Scott Thomas delivers a master class. Which is just as well – she’s barely off-screen.
Born in Cornwall, Scott Thomas used to be considered a quintessentially English actor, best known for her role in The English Patient. But she says she considers herself more French than British, and even offered a tongue-in-cheek apology to her legion of English fans for the increasingly Gallic flavour of her output since the turn of the century. When she produces vintage work such as this, Scott Thomas can be forgiven for that – and pretty much anything else.
This is less a story, more a study of the relationships that Juliette must tolerate and nurture as she feels her way back into society. We meet her in the first scene and it’s clear that this integration is reluctantly undertaken. Léa runs towards her in the airport but Juliette - fragile, uncomfortable and smoking incessantly - would rather keep her own counsel. Back at the house, it’s no surprise she is drawn towards Luc’s mute father, Papy Paul (delightfully played by Jean-Claude Arnaud), the one character who won’t engage her in awkward conversation.
Scott Thomas deftly takes Juliette through a subtle transition. At first, she cannot help but drag all and sundry down with her. Snapping at P'tit Lys, coldly dismissing a chance sexual conquest and sucking the enthusiasm out of her eager-to-please sister, Juliette seems intent on biting the hand that feeds.
And yet, as the days and weeks unfold, chinks of light appear through the gloom. Juliette softens, finding joy in a burgeoning relationship with P'tit Lys that is played out through piano lessons. She discovers a soulmate in Michel, reserving by far her longest and most frank utterances for him. She even becomes a crutch on which Captain Fauré can lean – a character who reminds Juliette that she is not the only tortured soul out there.
But Scott Thomas is perhaps at her best during her scenes with Hazanavicius. While Léa requires no winning over, Luc makes no secret of his mistrust and disdain for her. Juliette knows her presence exposes a fault line between her sister and brother-in-law, and it’s compelling to watch how Claudel edges Juliette and Luc towards mutual respect. Scott Thomas and Hazanavicius handle these psychological pigeon steps beautifully, not least in a stand-out scene where Luc’s frostiness thaws after a surprise request from his daughter.
It’s worth mentioning the score at this stage. For the vast majority of Claudel’s film, there is none to speak of. But during key scenes, like the aforementioned, an acoustic flourish from Jean-Louis Aubert lends weight. It’s a tribute to the acting that silence works best for the most part.
The same rule applies to Claudel’s script. Crucially it is sparse enough to allow for the speechlessness that such shocking subject matter requires. But at the same time, Claudel, a novelist for many years, manages to keep the story moving at a decent enough pace.
With Scott Thomas in such stunning form, it’s difficult to take your eyes off her. But to overlook Juliette’s fellow characters would do a disservice to a brilliant cast. Zylberstein is outstanding and utterly believable as Léa, the ‘glue’ that holds the film together. Juliette feels the deepest pain but Léa has the most to lose after risking the equilibrium of her family unit by allowing this ‘alien body’ to invade it.
Despite this obvious dilemma, Léa’s loyalty for her sibling never wanes from the moment she rushes towards Juliette in the opening scene. Getting emotionally closer will prove far tougher but Léa, with ghosts of her own to exorcise, probes for common ground as they learn to be sisters again. Inevitably, this involves reminiscing about their shared days of innocence – before Juliette’s guilt changed their lives. Léa admonishes herself for her hazy memory, knowing full well it’s the only touchstone they have.
Zylberstein plays the stoic ‘fixer’ superbly and briefly steals the show when, finally, it all gets too much and she verbally assaults one of her students while debating Dostoevsky’s ‘Crime And Punishment’ - a work of fiction with echoes of her sister’s reality. Zylberstein won the César for Best Supporting Actress for her contribution to this film - and it’s easy to see why.
When you sum up I’ve Loved You So Long, it’s clear that Scott Thomas is the heart and soul of this enthralling melodrama about guilt, grief, forgiveness and family. Claudel’s script gives her the platform to produce a career-defining performance in which every word, every expression, every sigh is measured to perfection. CH
Film: Leaving
Release date: 29th November 2010
Certificate: 15
Running time: 85 mins
Director: Catherine Corsini
Starring: Kristin Scott Thomas, Sergi López, Yvan Attal, Bernard Blancan, Aladin Reibel
Genre: Drama/Romance
Studio: Metrodome
Format: DVD
Country: France
Leaving’s subject matter of an affair between a disaffected, middle aged, middle class housewife and a younger, working class man sounds an over familiar tale, but there is an unexpected sting.
The apparent perfection of Suzanne’s life is superficial. Her elegant appearance, marriage to an affluent doctor and stylish home provide a tastefully minimalist mask for the emotional emptiness of her existence. Like many a fictional heroine before her, her identity is subsumed in her role as housewife and mother.
When workmen are brought in to construct a studio where Suzanne will pursue her new career as a physiotherapist, she grows close to one of the workmen, Ivan, and embarks on an affair with him. So far, so unremarkable, but the film takes a far darker path than the romantic escapism that might be the expected consequence of its premise.
When Suzanne leaves her family for her lover, her husband reacts violently, and uses his contacts and influence to cut off the couple from any means of earning a living. Driven to near starvation, Suzanne grows increasingly desperate, determined to stay with her lover at any cost. Familial relationships disintegrate and the norms of behaviour are disregarded, culminating in a dramatic denouement…
The film’s apparently romantic theme is belied by a pervasive austerity, in its dialogue, cinematography and its clear-eyed, unsentimental characterisation. The dialogue is fairly unremarkable, and there’s a banal ugliness to some of the scenes that seems deliberate – the tinny sound of a van door closing, or the shabby surroundings of Ivan’s flat. When scenes occur within a beautiful setting, these standout all the more, and they are all associated with Suzanne’s feelings for Ivan – contemplating escape together among the thickly wooded, majestic hills of Languedoc-Roussillon, or watching Ivan’s daughter playing in the sea as sunshine bounces off the waves.
The house of Suzanne’s white coat clad husband is bathed in a blue and northern light, which appears uncomfortably wintry and sterile in contrast to the warm sunshine associated with Suzanne’s lover. The initial scenes of the film, setting up the context of Suzanne’s family life, are interspersed with a blank black screen, and these moments seem to last fractionally too long, creating an uncomfortable sense of the silence and emptiness within the family. As Suzanne’s affection for Ivan grows, these blank interludes appear to diminish.
The role of Suzanne was created for Kristin Scott Thomas, and this gives some indication of the intentions of director Catherine Corsini. In the hands of a lesser actress, the film could have descended into the realms of TV drama, but Scott Thomas is one of those actors who can create a performance that is more than the sum of its parts, and Corsini obviously had this in mind when creating the role. Scott Thomas conveys typical French poise at the film’s beginning, so her transformation from chic to shabby is all the more shocking. Her portrayal of Suzanne’s blossoming affection for Ivan is warm and naturalistic, and she convincingly conveys the indignity that sexual obsession can bring about, a desperation and growing irrationalism which provokes our sympathy, as Suzanne’s behaviour plays havoc with the insincere politeness’s of bourgeois family life.
Scott Thomas’ compelling performance means that Corsini doesn’t have to use the sentiment of poetic dialogue or overblown cinematography to give the story its magnetism, with the result that the film’s depiction of the realities of marital infidelity is more realistic and disturbing than you would expect at its outset. Sergi Lopez, as Ivan, and Yvan Attal, as Suzanne’s husband Samuel, both provide excellent supporting performances. We’re denied the satisfaction of making black-and-white judgements on these characters as they are, unsettlingly, too subtly shaded for that. Ivan seems patient and affectionate, but we learn little of his past – Suzanne discovers that he has been in prison, but not why. Samuel’s reaction to Suzanne’s declaration that she is leaving him is frighteningly violent, and his continued persecution of her and her lover displays a vindictiveness that leaves no room for compassion. But this viciousness is tempered by earlier scenes in which Samuel shows a tender concern for Suzanne, and the humiliation of his situation makes his behaviour understandable, if still unpalatable at best.
There’s a pared down fatalism to the film which has echoes of classical tragedy, which looked with a similarly dispassionate eye at the loves and losses of the human soul. But despite – or because of – the film’s austere heart, and despite the fine performances of its cast, there’s something lacking in Leaving. When Suzanne’s actions become so desperate that in them you can see the seed of her self-destruction, it becomes increasingly hard to sympathise with her. Without that strong engagement with her character, and in the absence of any compensatory strength in Ivan or warmth in Samuel, you begin to feel distanced from the film. It ultimately substitutes subtlety for the grander gestures of sacrifice.
Leaving’s unexpectedly nasty edge renders its depiction of sexual obsession, marital infidelity and disintegrating family life compelling and disturbing in equal measure. Scott Thomas’ strong performance lends a truthfulness and warmth to the film, but the violently irrational development of her character fails to convince. A fine film rather than a great one. KR
Kristin Scott Thomas brings another extraordinary performance to the screen, with a role that has already earned her a nomination for France’s highest accolade for an actress – Best Actress at the Cesar Awards 2010. This is Kristin’s first French-speaking lead role since I Loved You So Long, which garnered high critical praise and earned over one million pounds at the UK box office.
Suzanne (Scott Thomas) is married to Samuel (Yvan Attal) with two children. When she decides to go back to work as a physiotherapist, it brings her into contact with a builder called Ivan (Sergi Lopez), an odd job man who has been to prison. The mutual attraction is sudden and violent. As Suzanne spirals out of control, she must decide between her family or living this all-engulfing passion to the full.
A stunning portrait of the destructive consequences that love can have, at the centre of which is a scintillating performance from Kristin Scott Thomas..
Film: Leaving
Release date: 29th November 2010
Certificate: 15
Running time: 85 mins
Director: Catherine Corsini
Starring: Kristin Scott Thomas, Sergi López, Yvan Attal, Bernard Blancan, Aladin Reibel
Genre: Drama/Romance
Studio: Metrodome
Format: DVD
Country: France
DVD Special Features:
•
Exclusive Cinemoi interviews with the cast and crew
•
UK Theatrical trailer
Film: Leaving
Release date: 9th July 2010
Certificate: 15
Running time: 85 mins
Director: Catherine Corsini
Starring: Kristin Scott Thomas, Sergi López, Yvan Attal, Bernard Blancan, Aladin Reibel
Genre: Drama/Romance
Studio: Metrodome
Format: Cinema
Country: France
Following her critically acclaimed performance in Il y a Longtemps Que Je T’aime, Catherine Corsini’s Leaving again sees Kristin Scott Thomas venture into the French filmmaking industry in a story of passion and betrayal and the complexities that arise when a family is broken apart.
Suzanne (Kristin Scott Thomas) is an Englishwoman living in southern France who, for the past fourteen years has lived a comfortable upper class existence as a housewife on account of her husband, Samuel (Yvan Attal), a successful doctor.
When Suzanne decides that she wants to return to her work as a physiotherapist, Samuel arranges to have their garage converted into a surgery for her. Suzanne begins to realise a growing attraction to Ivan (Sergi López) one of the builders her husband has employed. An act of carelessness from Suzanne causes Ivan to suffer a leg injury, and she volunteers to drive him to Spain to visit his daughter. The two bond over a meal and, afterwards, Ivan kisses Suzanne, and so begins a passionate and damaging affair that will have dire consequences for everyone concerned.
When Suzanne eventually decides to leave Samuel in favour of a life with Ivan, the lovers find themselves blissfully happy for a short while, until Suzanne finds that she can no longer access her husband’s bank account, and Ivan discovers that Samuel has used his friendship with the local Mayor to have him blacklisted.
Penniless and unable to find work, Suzanne and Ivan find themselves resorting to increasingly desperate measures to survive…
To get the obvious out of the way, it is fair to say that, in terms of story, Leaving wins few points for originality. We are accustomed to seeing stories of marital breakdowns and affairs in everything from Hollywood films to soap operas to celebrity gossip magazines, and Corsini’s story does not re-write the book on such matters. Nor does it attempt to. In the case of Leaving, the fact that the story is one that we are familiar with acts as a help rather than a hindrance, enabling the plot to unfold without any unnecessary complications, and our attention to be fully concentrated on the absorbing performances from the three leads.
The chemistry between Scott Thomas and López is palpable, and the intense happiness that they experience in the early days of their union serves to make the eventual disintegration of their life together all the more tragic. One scene in particular, in which Suzanne is forced to sell her expensive jewellery at a petrol station in order to pay for their petrol, is heart-wrenching to watch, and Scott Thomas plays it to perfection, displaying Suzanne’s shame and humiliation through her shaking hand and the helpless look in her eye, as she attempts to maintain an external aura of calm.
All of the intensity of the passionate sexual attraction between Suzanne and Ivan is equalled in the simmering, venomous relationship between Suzanne and Samuel, as he desperately tries to convince his wife to return to him and their children. Samuel is unrelenting in his refusal to accept that his marriage is over, and resorts to devious, underhand tactics to hinder his wife’s new relationship. The performance of Yvan Attal is sensational, he shifts effortlessly and seamlessly between ice-cold passive-aggressiveness and red-hot fury, as he struggles with so many conflicting emotions: his love for his wife and desire for reunion; his embarrassment at having lost her to a man he clearly feels is beneath him; and his satisfaction at seemingly having the moral authority in the situation.
It is a credit to Corsini that none of the characters in Leaving are stereotypical, and her approach to the film avoids making judgement on who is right and wrong, leaving it for each viewer to ponder on the moral complexities of such situations. Suzanne is a likeable character who seemingly falls hopelessly in love, and so we would question whether we can blame her for leaving her family to live with another man. However, at several points in the film we see her put her own needs and desires before her duties as a mother - her children are rarely taken into consideration when she makes several life changing decisions, and she fails to show any real gratitude for her husband, who’s money has allowed her to live in luxury without working for so many years. Samuel, too, could easily have been played as a cold, emotionless husband who deserves to lose his wife, but we see in him a genuine love for Suzanne and desire to keep his family unit intact at any cost. Despite how devious and underhand his attempts to hinder Suzanne may seem the question still remains, if Suzanne is willing to do anything for love then is Samuel not entitled to do the same? Ivan is not the traditional knight in shining armour - he may be kind, genuine, artistic and deep, but he is also an ex-con, and shows little remorse for the fact that he has torn a family apart. All of these aspects of the three central characters combine to display perfectly the point that Corsini is trying to make: as wonderful and empowering being in love can be, it can also be selfish - depriving us of the ability to make rational judgements, and filling us with jealousy and rage. Leaving shows us both sides of the spectrum - we see love in all its blissful glory, and in all its petty shame.
The story may be as old as France itself, but the performances of Scott Thomas, López and Attal give Leaving enough raw emotion and depth to make it a thoroughly engaging drama that draws the viewer so effortlessly into its world that it is impossible not to be affected by its outcome. PK
Film: Largo Winch: Deadly Revenge
Release date: 16th August 2010
Certificate: 15
Running time: 104 mins
Director: Jérôme Salle
Starring: Tomer Sisley, Kristin Scott Thomas, Miki Manojoivic, Melanie Thierry, Gilbert Melki
Genre: Action/Adventure/Thriller
Studio: Optimum
Format: DVD
Country: France/Belgium
Belgium and France have a long tradition of comic strips, aka Bande Desinee. They tend to be based less on costumed superheroes and more on a sort of reality squared – a reality both recognisable and fantastical at the same time. Asterix and Tintin may be the more famous titles internationally, but there have been film versions of others, such as Blueberry and Lucky Luke. Luc Besson has recently made a film about comic-strip heroine Adele Blanc-Sec, and finally we get to see the celluloid version of Largo Winch.
Largo is the adopted son of multi-billionaire Nerio Linch, and heir to his company and fortune. However, he has a rebellious streak a mile wide, and has had little to do with his father in the past three years, opting instead to travel the world having his own adventures. When his father is murdered, Largo must travel to Hong Kong to reveal himself to the company board who are reeling in shock from his father’s death. Mikhail Korsky, a sinister rival who has built his company through gun-running is preparing to make a take-over bid but luckily Winch Corp’s second-in-command, Ann Ferguson (Scott-Thomas) proposes a plan to launch a counter-offensive. Largo must prove his mettle both in the boardroom and with his fists, but who can he trust?
What unfolds is a globe-trotting, exciting “origins” tale. We first meet Largo in Brazil, getting into trouble and rescuing/bedding a girl-in-peril. His reward for his actions is to be arrested on false charges of drug-smuggling. One of the things Largo resents is his father using his wealth to buy his way out of situations. Largo’s motto is “I have my own way.” This is illustrated perfectly as Largo breaks out of the Brazilian jail at precisely the same time that Freddy (Melki), Nerio’s scar-faced “Mr Fix-it”, arrives to bribe the guards for his freedom.
The character of Largo Winch comes across as an amalgamation of Bruce Wayne and James Bond, with a touch of Indiana Jones thrown in for good measure. He has a classical education, a quick mind, and is as cool as ice when under pressure. He has issues with fitting into his father’s plans for him, and is constantly trying to escape his destiny. He’s also prone to making the odd mistake, which leads to people he cares about being put in harm’s way.
The plot is pretty sophisticated and takes in a lot of elements, including snapshots of Largo’s upbringing and his issues with his identity. The boardroom dealings aren’t too hard to follow but there is a lot of set-up and counter set-up going on. There are a number of twists along the way – some of which are signposted, while others come right out of the blue. Some characters, obviously important to the Largo Winch mythos, are merely introduced (one woman is rudely imposed upon whilst in the toilet, then is absent from the rest of the film), or are dropped into the film in such a way that will be confusing to those not familiar with the literary version.
I compared Largo to Bond and Bruce Wayne earlier. Luckily, director Jerome Salle delivers a number of exciting action set-pieces to back my claim. Largo is a gifted fighter and deadly with a knife. The fight choreography is mostly filmed in mid-to-long shot, showcasing Tomer Sisely doing most of his own stunts. The production design is pretty superb as well. The CGI’d Winch headquarters building dominates the Hong Kong harbour, and the sun-baked locations in Croatia are beautiful.
Fans of the original novels or the comic strips might take umbrage at the various changes made to some of the details that make up Largo’s world, but nevertheless Tomer Sisely (who can also be seen as a Muslim gangster in Paris Lockdown) is great in the role of Largo, making him a true iconic celluloid hero and embodying the athleticism, sex appeal and intelligence needed to bring the character to life. Kristin Scott-Thomas also does well as Ann Ferguson, providing much-needed backbone to the Winch boardroom.
We may not be as familiar with Largo Winch as our French and Belgian cousins, but I suspect that could soon change on the strength of this film. Considering approximately half of the film is in English, Largo Winch should find a large audience, and I for one am looking forward to the next instalment. MOW
