Rust and Bone

I haven't seen a film from this director before, so in that respect I had no expectations. But I do love Cotillard, and since her break-out year n 2007 with La Vie En Rose she's one of the ones I look forward to the most. I have liked her in mostly all of the American films I have seen her in, but her heavy accent is always what kinda holds her back a little. I think because English seems to come so difficult to her, it seems like her just talking calls attention to itself. So in that regard I was definitely interested in seeing her in a 2nd foreign-language film. I haven't seen many of the Oscar contenders, but she gives what is easily the best performance of the year so far. Here she pretty much lives her character, and there is not one false note in her entire performance. This is key because in the past, although she always has this fierce magnetism, she also is sometimes inconsistent in her recent American films. This reaffirms what I had thought of, that Cotilard just fits better in her native tongue. She can be melodramatic when she needs to play a melodramatic character (La Vie En Rose) and here she gives an acting performance that's the polar opposite. Her many nuances make this is a fairly low-key performance, but I'll be surprised if there's anything bad to be said about her here, and that's a testament to how well she just fits in it. As for the film itself, it was actually very good. It's a film that I can already see myself reflecting on in the future. My only real complaint would be that the ending was perhaps a little bit too neat.

That life is full of surprises is something we already know. However, it's still hard to grasp the meaning of certain incidents that are supposed to shed light on things we do not understand. "De Rouille et D'os" is a French-Belgium production that brings back the beautiful and talented Marion Cotillard in a very powerful role that, somehow, did not manage to touch me. The story is in fact quite boring and although I'd like to appreciate the effort invested by the actors, I believe the idea, though good, didn't quite work. It's depiction of one soul-searching character and the social difficulties encountered by an other become interconnected to bring a possible closure. But the numerous incidents, apparently meant to be part of a whole are just like leaves on the wind, going everywhere with no direction. I personally didn't really like it and as much of an open mind I always try to keep, this one still failed to surprise me.

This is an insipidly tedious and vacuous film. No doubt given weight and kudos due to the producers previous efforts... Yes, it is gritty, raw, coarse, ribald, brutal, and all the other supposedly illuminating catchphrases applied to films of this ilk (although, most others do have some redeeming qualities)... Yet, it is also excruciatingly clichéd, naive, formulaic, facile and ferociously fanciful. Constantly falling into the lowly laudable realm of idealised, but totally unfeasible perspective of the human condition often succumbed to by parochial practitioners of supposed blunt realism, who subscribe to being in the know, but are not of the know when it comes to the quagmire of human frailties, foibles and fabrications implicit in the worlds of those with fractured lives. From the outset this film is void of any insight. Preferring to present blank faced obstinance, sullen sanctimony, wilful indifference, contrived violence, and gutter imagery to pad out what could only loosely be called a story. Considering the talent at his disposal (the brilliant Marion Cotillard for one,) the producer has forgone any opportunity for character development, depth of emotional exploration, or even a remote semblance of projecting a believable portrayal of the leading protagonists. In its way, although not overtly obvious, this is a silly, sickly sentimental film for those who would feel violently affronted at the suggestion of watching such a thing... a trend which has been going on for some time now, and will no doubt continue to do so! Though totally lacking in scope, the film will surely play into the misguided hands of those who want to believe in the mythological nobility and underlying sensitivity of thugs, which gets reinforced by the vulnerability of a certain kind of woman, who purportedly can see and bring to the fore those noble inner qualities invisible to all others. While typing this review the thought that has constantly been reverberating through my mind is; "Sometimes we need to shoot less film and more producers!"

Marion Cotillard in "Rust And Bone" gave my favorite performance in a long, long time. She is astonishing. Her performance here touched a personal cord with me and reminded me of actresses who've been able to transform me. Yes, that's exactly what she's done, transform me. She was able to awaken my sense of compassion and admiration. Simone Signnoret in "Room At The Top", Annie Girardot in "Rocco And His Brothers" Samantha Eggar in "The Collector", Charlotte Rampling in "The Night Porter" Those performances by those actresses not only instructed me as a man but inspired me. Now Marion Cotillard has done it again for me and I'm very grateful. As a bizarre note, she has been ignored by the Oscars, how is that possible?

What a remarkable performance! Marion Cotillard as an actress, as an artist goes as far here as very few actresses have gone before - Total and utter truth no matter how wrenching - Maria Falconetti in The Passion Of Joan Of Arc, Meryl Streep in Sophie's Choice, Anna Magnani in Bellissima and very few others, now, for me, Marion Cotillard in Rust And Bone belongs right up there among the sublime. Here I should be commenting on the film and my comment is all about her because Rust And Bone is her, Marion Cotillard. Her co-star, totally new to me, Matthias Schoenaerts, is superb as the handsome, unwitting agent provocateur. Not to be missed.

The setting is there, the cast well chosen, the topic of a provoking and infinite nature. Yet, this film, blind to all this, manages using rusty clichés to overturn the table. "De rouille et d'os" simply does not succeed neither in making you feel unsettled nor in cinematographically encaspulating the harshness of the situation in which the actors find themselves. A flat character (Ali), whose punches and sexual intercourse outnumber his personality tonal palette, fails to go further the character of a brutal(ish), new age, macho. The character development there, just is not. Furthermore, the inefficiently "shaped" character of Stephanie makes do with presenting more her physical needs rather than the emotional torrent of feelings and sadness one goes through after having his both legs amputated. The whole is, rather, wrapped with rusty clichés, cinematographical Hollywoodesque (sic) clutter that obstruct the viewer from diving into the character interaction, etc. That was a great, yet missed, opportunity to produce a work of art.

I watched this film at the Canes Film Festival, audience expectation was high the huge Palais auditorium completely filled. Jacques Audiard is my favourite director, as with Tahir Rahim in A Prophet and Roman Duris in The Beat that my heart skipped, Audiard managed to get an astounding performance from his male lead Schoenaerts, performed as a brutal man lacking the capability to show warmth or love to his young son and the women that cross his path, his performance as a bouncer come fist fighter for money is always believable though completely unsympathetic. You wish him to succeed though you find it hard to like him so often does his character disappoint, seemingly incapable of love and sensitivity, his straight forward requests for sex come out as comic rather than charming, but his open down-to-earth approach and honesty, often gets him what he desires. Meeting Cotillard he is met and challenged by a very strong woman, damaged she needs to find herself again, he could possibly help, at least initially physically rather than emotionally. As their characters interact throughout the film I was unsure as too who would change who, fascinating highly watchable characters struggle to prevail against bad luck and to pull themselves out of the mire of despair and poverty, my kind of film. Again a remarkable film by a master film maker, completely at ease with breaking the conventions of traditional romance.

Rust and Bone is new film by Jacques Audiard known largely for his breakout success A Prophet and concerns the burgeoning relationship between whale trainer Stephanie (Marion Cotillard) and street fighter Ali (Matthias Schoenaerts). If you can avoid it, it's probably best to avoid much of the plot, but given it's been fairly publicised this is fairly difficult, but this is a film that deals with disability, image and to some extent, class. It's been mentioned a lot, but what's really wonderful about this film is it's complete sidestepping of exaggerated sentimentality it could so easily fall prey to. In the wrong hands, this could be a feel-good, motivational tale of a disabled person overcoming their hardships and finding love and personal confidence with a emotionally crippled partner who learns to overcome his own shortcomings in a fantastical fairy-tale rather like another rather successful French film that was released earlier this year. In all honesty too, what I just described isn't completely far-off the narrative arc in Rust and Bone. The way the film handles its characters' emotionally however is so much more satisfying due, partly to the brilliant performances by both Cotillard and Schoenaert, but also in Audiard's writing and direction. After all, Rust and Bone is a feel-good tale eventually, but it takes a really long time to get there and doesn't revel in it. The two leads do overcome their physical and emotional traumas through their relationship but it is a slow process of recovery, one that is instantly recognisable in every day life. For a film with such a potentially over-the-top synopsis, it does incredibly well to stay focused on this small set of characters it presents us as believable and relate-able figures. It poses some fascinating questions; is street fighting really any more or less cruel than training beautiful orcas to perform tricks for our pleasure? Why do this father and son move in the first place? We only have to assume that whatever was going on before the narrative was worse than what is happening on screen. What was Stephanie like before her accident? And, like in Beasts of the Southern Wild, is being tough with your child sometimes necessary? These questions leave the film open, even though the main narrative is fairly straightforward. All in all, the sheer range of emotions this film produces is testament to it's strength. It is difficult and charming, brutal and beautiful, melancholic and humorous throughout, exactly when and where it needs to be. My only real criticism is that the narrative dips a tiny bit in the third act, once the central relationship is finally consummated (which again, takes along time and initially is very matter-of-fact in a suitably amusing scene), the narrative begins to drag its heels a tiny bit, as the film seems to completely forget about Ali's son (though his character seems to for a bit as well) but the final coda remains to avoid sentimentality in an excellent closing few scenes. The cinematography and soundtrack are pretty beautiful too, completing a fantastic triumph of an understated film.

This movie has been recommended to me several times, so I thought I'd give it a watch. I have to say, I've spent two hours far more productively with my feet up on my desk and staring at my toenails. Rust and Bone tells the story of two damaged people that, in finding one another, heal themselves and go on with their lives. Except... that it doesn't. Whilst the male and female leads are damaged (she even before she suffers the loss of her legs), there is no noticeable character change in either of them. Oh... unless you count the sudden scene at the end - more later. The male is thuggish, boorish and uncaring almost to a sociopathic extreme. He feeds his child leftovers from strangers and barely seems to care about the boy. The woman is self-absorbed and dismissive of others, even calling her boyfriend "A small man" at one point early on when he is humiliated in his own home by the thug. Neither of them is remotely likable. He comes across as a dimwit. She as a narcissist. Then they meet. We are supposed to think there might be some chemistry between them but, frankly, I've seen more chemistry in a Christian Scientist's bathroom cabinet than these two conjure up. There's just nothing likable about either of them. They have sex. They discuss it in a horribly disinterested manner and basically agree to be each other's "friend-with-benefits". If there was any chemistry I was hoping to find, it was bleach. Bleach. Thrown into my eyes to prevent me from watching any more of these two's ludicrous antics. But it was not to be, so... I watched them heal each other. Or at least, I think that is what the story was aiming for. But it just fails dismally at this. After getting together, both people do not change in even the slightest. He is still a thuggish street-fighter. She is still a self-obsessed prima donna. The token concession to "everything-turning-out-alright-in-the-end" was the final scene, out of the blue. It shows the thug becoming a world champion martial artist whilst she stands by with the son by her side, his artful manager. A proper family unit at last! It is all ridiculously unbelievable and borderline insulting. I hate to say this, but if the two characters had been given an ounce more humanity, a smidgeon more personality, and made even slightly likable, then the film would have suceeded very well. Instead, the story focuses not on the relationship between the two, but on the two as individuals. It is utterly wrong. It's like someone asked Data from Star Trek to write a love story before he got the emotion chip! Don't get me wrong. I love foreign cinema. The original versions of Girl with the Dragon Tattoo are far superior to the Hollywood remake. Same with Let Me In. But this isn't in that league. Not even close. SUMMARY: Dull, focuses on individuals, not the relationship. Characters that won't grow on you no matter how much Baby-Bio you force feed them. If you are looking for a romantic drama, give this one a miss.

There's a moment towards the end of Rust And Bone when something awful happens, and we are about to witness the ultimate tragedy. For that couple of minutes, the rest of the movie becomes irrelevant; we are just totally immersed in this act playing out. It's a brutal but wonderful sequence and, fortunately, it's not the first time we have such a scene in the movie. That's pretty much what Rust And Bone is: a series of wonderfully brutal sequences. The movie deals with the relationship between two fragile individuals from opposite ends of life. Ali (Matthias Schoenaerts) is trying to be a better father and a better man; Stephanie (Marion Cotillard) is trying to rebuild her shattered life after a horrific accident. Their need for each other grows drastically, but their real lives threaten to get in the way. As far as story lines go, this isn't anything overly special. It's the kind of kitchen sink drama that we've seen Ken Loach and Mike Leigh do for ages. Fragile characters, broken homes, comedy out of tragedy, it's the usual stuff. Only difference here is that we're seeing it all play out in France, with French people speaking French and doing French things. But frankly, nothing is original these days; what matters more is the execution. And what sets Rust And Bone apart from other similarly-themed movies is the execution. Working class France is shot brilliantly, looking gorgeous and despairing all at the same time. The special effects are top-notch, and there is a somewhat jarring quality to the editing that really works. But what you really need to see this film for is Cotillard and Schoenaerts. I was trying to decide who I thought was the better actor in the film, but it's impossible to choose. They are both fantastic. I've never seen Matthias Schoenaerts before, but the guy is amazing. He manages to juggle pain and deadpan humour simultaneously, which is quite an achievement. Cotillard, meanwhile, is the usual perfect self that she is. Such an expressive face, and she's able to make even the hokiest of lines come off natural and genuine. I really didn't like her in The Dark Knight Rises but, clearly, she's at her best when she's speaking her natural language. They are what make these sequences brutal and wonderful, through their chemistry and ability to suck the audience in. The rest of the film is scattered with great supporting cast performances, especially Armand Verdure as Ali's son Sam. The young boy is a joy to watch, and can be added to that ever-growing list of strong pre-teen child actors. I'm pretty sure Rust And Bone has won a few awards, and deservedly so. It's amazing to watch, just because it's so fun to see brilliant performances. Like I said before, the story itself isn't probably that amazing. It's been done before; but it's done in such a way here, with those two central performances, that it feels fresh and original. You really should check it out.