My King / Mon Roi Review ( Starring Vincent Cassel)

There is a creeping sense of familiarity when watching Mon Roi, a drama that examines the complexity of the relationship between a husband and wife over ten years. Luckily though, Mon Roi never feels like ten years to watch, and in detailing the ups and downs of a modern marriage, it demands attention throughout. You can always depend on Vincent Cassel for a terrific performance and Mon Roi may just be one of his best yet, even to those with extraordinarily high expectations of the actor.

Mon Roi tells the story of the turbulent relationship of Tony (Emmanuelle Bercot) and Georgio (Vincent Cassel), as Tony reminisces on the high and lows of her marriage while recuperating at a physiotherapy facility with a broken leg. The pair meet (in flashbacks) after Tony has already freed herself from one previous marriage, and Georgio’s charm and charisma win her over easily. Much to her brother’s vocal disapproval, Tony and Georgio fall madly in love, marry and have a child together. While in the present, Tony makes slow progress in getting her leg working again, she looks back at what went wrong in her marriage and reflects on the love she may still feel for Georgio.

Mon Roi means My King and it is an apt title for this story of one woman’s inability to move on from the problematic love of her life. Tony can be a frustrating character for not being able to see Georgio for what he truly is, and for constantly ending up back in his bed, even after it is clear he is an arch manipulator. The strength of Mon Roi lies in making Tony sympathetic throughout, even if she does make some poor decisions. Her love for Georgio is unquestionable and to writer and director Maiwenn’s credit, it is almost completely convincing that Tony would keep coming back for more from Georgio.

Vincent Cassel’s perfect performance is fearless in its deconstruction of this character. Cassel excels at the beginning of the film, showing exactly why Tony would fall in love with Georgio. He is funny, successful and devoted to Tony; that is until one of his exes slits her wrists and cracks start to develop in their relationship. Cracks become fissures and soon, with a baby on the way, the compatibility of these once joyful lovers is called seriously into question.

Cutting back and forth between the past and present makes Mon Roi a well-paced and involving drama at just over two hours in length. The scenes of Tony having physical therapy are quick and concise, until later in the film when she develops some friendships with the other patients with leg injuries. Director Maiwenn flits through the relationship; it’s like having a peek inside Tony’s memories as she attempts to heal her leg and her heart. Watching these characters grow, and more worryingly, repeat their same previous mistakes again and again is never a chore. The concern for the child growing up between them is felt more keenly as the film progresses, especially as it becomes clearer just how calculating and cold Georgio can be. It’s impressive that Cassel manages to keep his character from being utterly and irreparably infuriating.

The flawed characters make Mon Roi very convincing. This is a relationship plucked straight from the real world and by the conclusion, Maiwenn's story has a brief but potent tug at the heart strings. In a final scene of the film, her direction, the cinematography and Emmanuelle Bercot’s terrific performance culminate in a heart wrenching moment of clarity. The message is clear; you cannot choose who you fall in love with, though life could be so much simpler if only there was an off-switch for these feelings. It’s not an outstanding film but it packs an emotional punch without resorting to tragedy.

Watch the trailer:

 

Goodbye to Language (Adieu au Langage) Review

Perhaps Jean Luc Godard's latest experiment in cinema, image, ideas and technology is impossible to critique. It is a piece of art after all; open to wildly differing interpretations and not designed in any way to be an easy or identifiable experience for the audience. Bursting with ideas but difficult to enjoy, I found it insufferable even at 70 minutes.

There is no real narrative to speak of; a dog wanders and a man and woman meet and spout frequently nonsensical philosophical mumblings. Divided into two sections (that seem to constantly overlap), Goodbye to Language explores nature, the image as metaphor, and it’s all in some of the most headache inducing 3D you will ever see.

Narrative and character are not important however and though the dog, a mostly naked woman and a mostly shitting man recur throughout the film, we learn little of them. The man talks to the woman while on the toilet with the sound of him shitting being about as inviting as the nonsense he spouts from his mouth. The woman is naked which we are helpfully reminded is not an issue in nature as to dogs there is no such thing as the concept of nakedness. Similarly when the dog decides to roll around in what is possibly more shit, you can't help but feel that by watching the film, the audience is doing the same.

Godard experiments wildly with discontinuous editing, abrupt sounds and changes in volume which should be in some way exciting but here comes across as simply annoying. While I'm certain Godard isn't after approval, especially from those who like their cinema with a good story and interesting characters, it is still difficult to see the artistic merit in much of the film.

However, there are some moments that are briefly interesting. The 3D in particular is used in new and at times bravura ways. Godard would make James Cameron squirm in his seat with ugly compositions with objects placed frustratingly in the foreground and assaulting the eyes. Even more daring is the placing of two separate images placed over one another so that each image can only seen by closing one eye behind the 3D glasses.

No matter how odd this all seems, there is occasionally a point emerging. One shot has the subject caged by the image and there is a reference to kamera meaning prison in Russian. The voices in the story hold a disdain for the image and while it flits between philosophical essay, the world's worst home video and incomprehensible poem, Goodbye to Language warns that people will soon need an interpreter to understand what is coming out of their own mouths. Warning: if this film is anything to go by, then I already need an interpreter.

As the film loops, repeats and uses some of the same techniques over and over, many will likely be desperate to say Goodbye to Language, to Godard, to cinema and even to life itself. Its musings on God, animals, sex, death and ... um... whatever are rarely mind blowing and the technical experimentation on display is more ugly than exciting.

Call me a heathen, a philistine, or anything you like but as one 'character' declares near the end: 'I hate characters'. I could not agree less. Goodbye to Language is so frustrating, so difficult to just enjoy or engage with, that it very nearly makes me want to say goodbye to art, hello Michael Bay... almost.

Goodbye to Language is screening at the BFI London Film Festival 2014 on Oct 13th at 6.30pm at the BFI IMAX. Tickets on sale from 18th September. 

More on the BFI London Film Festival 2014

More on the Cannes Film Festival 2014

Reviews of other films being screened at the festival:

White God

Timbuktu 

Wild Tales (Relatos Salvajes) 

The Blue Room (La Chambre Bleue) 

The Salvation 

Foxcatcher

Mr Turner

Two Days, One Night Review (Deux Jours, une nuit)

Depression meets determination in this simple story as one woman fights to keep her job over a single weekend.  The Dardennes brothers returned to the Cannes Film Festival directing Marion Cotillard in a heartfelt and political, but ultimately frustrating drama.

Cotillard plays Sandra, an ordinary woman who suffers from debilitating depression and as a result, has taken time out from her job to try and get better. Just as she is expecting to return to employment, she gets a call stating that her co-workers have voted to each receive a bonus if Sandra is made redundant. With accusations that her foreman influenced the ballot, Sandra is given the weekend to try and persuade her friends and fellow employees not to vote to take their promised bonus, and instead vote to let her keep her job and help provide for her family.

Sandra has a supportive husband and two children but each of the people she tries to persuade has their own issues, problems and excuses. Times are clearly tough and Sandra's family are not the only ones with financial problems. As she goes around to speak individually to those who can decide her fate, she pops Xanax pills and must remain optimistic even in the face of rejection and her own uncertainty. Sandra wants nothing more than to give up but with the help of her husband she finds the strength to continue tracking down enough people to help create a majority in the second vote on Monday morning.

The problem with this slightest of stories is that Two Days, One Night quickly falls into a pattern of repetition. Cotillard is rarely off screen and even with her typically impressive performance, the film struggles to remain fully engaging. Her conversations with co-workers cover necessarily similar ground, even if the outcome of these encounters is rarely certain. The people she meets with are unfortunately almost instantly forgettable; realistic and completely convincing, but far from memorable. There are some exceptions with one man's shame filled admission and outburst being notable and another woman's life altering decision being a highlight. Their responses to Sandra’s pleas are varied; from icy cold to warm and refreshing. Sandra has to weather all these contradictory reactions, while ploughing ahead with her mission and trying to keep her emotions in check and head held high; not an easy task for a woman suffering from depression.

The Dardennes have an obvious political point to make and their message is clear from the start and then finally hammered home forcefully by the smart ending. The perverse decision to put Sandra's future in the hands of her hard up friends and fellow employees is unfair and a sinister tactic to ensure that the workforce are divided and conquered. It is symptomatic of the way modern workforces are treated, particularly those with few options for employment and who live in financial hardship. Sandra and her family will be forced back to social housing without her income but everyone else she meets is eager for their own bonus, whether it be to buy a new patio or to simply make ends meet.

Though much of the story takes a predictable course, there is a neat little twist in the tale and a surprisingly optimistic note in what could have been a relentlessly bleak trip. At one point, the film strays into almost laughable cliché, but in many others it is very much like watching a slice of real life. The Dardenne brothers’ typically realist style means handheld camera provides an intimacy to the drama while the complete lack of a soundtrack, except for when Sandra and her husband rock out to the car radio adds to the understated performances.

While Two Days, One Night has an admirable and potent political message to convey, as a narrative it is a bit like a depressing song on repeat, going round and round in circles and losing much of its power along the way. Dardenne fans will appreciate its rawness but even they may expect a little more from the French directors. Like its central character, Two Days, One Night has plenty of potential but doesn’t always fulfill it. 

More reviews from I Love That Film:

The Rover

Mr Turner  

The Captive (Captives)  

Wild Tales (Relatos Salvajes)

The Salvation 

Red Army

The Homesman

Life Itself 

Untouchable Directors Olivier Nakache and Eric Toledano Interview

 Untouchable directors Olivier Nakache and Eric Toledano have a lot to smile about. Their little French film about an aristocrat quadriplegic (François Cluzet) and his caretaker from the projects (Omar Sy) has had international success at countless awards ceremonies and film festivals; it’s also blown all box office expectations out of the water. Nominated for nine Cesar awards (the French Oscars) but winning only won for Best Actor (the irresistible Omar Sy), the directors are now in London ahead of the UK release of the film this Friday.

The Weinstein Company are distributing Untouchable and after such incredible success across the globe, Nakache and Toledano are hoping the film will be as warmly embraced in the UK as it has been in the rest of the world.

I was lucky enough to catch up with directors Olivier Nakache and Eric Toledano to talk to them about their brilliant success. Head on over to Filmoria to read the full interview and to find out what the pair had to say about tackling a comedy drama dealing with the thorny issues of race and disability, how they feel about a US remake of the film that has brought them such huge international success and why they say the UK is a big influence on their style of comedy.

To can also read my review of Untouchable here.

 Untouchable is released in the UK on Friday 21st September.

Untouchable Review

 

Based on the book You Changed My Life by Abdel Sellou, Untouchable, originally titled Intouchables in France has already become a massive word-of-mouth box office sensation in its native land. The Weinstein Company have snapped up the rights for worldwide distribution and a US remake but they’ll be hard pushed to beat the magic of the original pairing of stars Omar Sy and Francois Cluzet in this touching dramedy...

Read the rest of this review over at Filmoria.

More on world cinema:

Check out my interview with the directors of Untouchable
Come As You Are review
Everybody Has a Plan review
A Hijacking trailer
Everybody Has a Plan trailer
Matthieu Kassovitz interview