Juliette Binoche exudes her own kind of sunshine in this romantic drama. She plays a Parisian artist who is divorced and just trying to connect with a special someone who will capture her heart and not just take advantage of her body.
As Isabelle, Binoche has no trouble garnering attention and sex. But she is emotionally and physically unsatisfied by the men taking advantage of her availability. What she’s really striving for is a real attachment and relationship.
The subtitled film is in French which lends itself well to the romance. It is based on a book written by Roland Barthes. French female Director Claire Denis captures every tender and frustrated expression on Binoche’s face as she hooks up with men from different strata in her search to connect. The script was co-writtten by Denis and Christine Angot and seems plausible.
We thought she dressed so trashy in this film, almost like a hooker rather than as the avant garde painter she portrays. Interesting that Binoche actually painted the massive artwork you see being created in the film and even took some of her own works home. We saw the film at the Dallas International Film Festival a couple of years ago and were taken with Binoche’s portrayal. The camera loves her. She’s radiant on screen. But she doesn’t light up having a successful relationship in this film.
The opening scene is her having sex and we see she is just bored out of her mind. The married banker(Xavier Beauvois) lets her know he’s crazy about her, but later tells her he is also crazy about his wife. “You’re charming, but my wife is extraordinary.”
She had a relationship after the divorce and still has sex with him but they’re not a couple any more. Something is obviously missing. She also hooks up with a handsome but needy actor (Nicolas Duvauchelle) who drives her crazy emotionally. The one time she seems lost in love is when she is dancing with a stranger in a nightclub. Director Denis likes to use music to help tell the story and this is no exception. Here Isabelle, gets passionately immersed in the song “At Last” sung by Etta James. It doesn’t matter whose arms she’s in or if they are going to have a relationship. She feels good pretending she’s in love.
Besides watching her paint, the most interesting part is at the very end of the film at the credits. There is an enlightening discussion about her plight, face-to-face, with French iconic actor Gérard Depardieu who plays, of all things, a fortune teller. She wants to know the about what’s in store for for her regarding life and love. He acts as her sounding board as Denis, le voyant.
They have a philosophical discussion about the meaning of both, in general, and it’s interesting to watch them interact. He tells her to let the sunshine in, advising her to be open but to put her own needs and wants first. She is not there just to satisfy the needs of the men who want her. This film shines a light on the search for true love. Frustrated or not, Binoche shines bright in this film.
Sundance Selects 1 hour 34 minutes R Reviewed May 13, 2018
