Con’s Score: 3.5 Tortoises
It’s risky making a movie about an actress called “The Truth”. After all, actors are professional schizophrenics, who pretend to be other people, uttering words given to them by insecure writers. And they love to be adored. (I may have just offended many acting friends, but I doubt it. They only read reviews of productions they’re in.)
This is the way the character of Fabienne Dangeville (Catherine Deneuve) is established. She’s an ageing diva who is about to release her memoirs, while she’s doing a shoot with a hot young up and coming actress, Manon (Manon Clavel). Fabienne is bit narcissistic and has a touch of nastiness about her. She’s even named her pet tortoise after her ex-husband.
She’s visited by her daughter Lumir (Juliette Binoche), her husband Hank (Ethan Hawke), who is also an actor, and their daughter Charlotte (Clementine Grenier) for the launch of her book. Of course, this stirs emotions. In fact, her valet Jacques (Christian Crahay) quits when he’s written out of it, which leaves Lumir to be her assistant which brings them together.
Writer-Director Hirokazu Kore-eda (The Shoplifters) specialises in these sorts of quirky, warm, humanist tales. This film doesn’t rely on plot twists to deliver its impact. It relies on a lovely script and some touching acting.
He couldn’t find the right actor in his homeland of Japan and headed for France. The minor hurdle he had was that he didn’t speak any French and not much English. Yet, he still brings out some nicely balanced performances.
Binochet is simply beautiful in this. She shows off her range without needing to tear up scenery. Deneuve plays the diva nicely too, although her lack of facial movement inhibits her. Yet, in a key scene during the movie shoot, she turns it on and shows what real acting is. Ethan plays the warm daddy well and Grenier as Charlotte is more than adorable. And the support cast hold up their ends well. It’s an excellent cast who play with a light touch.
It’s a film about mothers and their daughters and how unspoken secrets can break them; and how this fractured family has cracked under the weight of a mother’s ego. But there’s always time to fix them.
The character arcs aren’t too subtle and they’re not overblown, but there’s enough emotion to move you deeply. I love the way they draw the tears, then switch them off with a laugh. In the end, this film also shows how some actors find their ‘truth’. (It usually comes when they’re not ‘actoring’.)
It’s a true treat watching two great actresses play off each other. It’s a true delight when they do it so damn well.
Con Nats, On The Screen
