Clair Obscur

The cast is fine; the lead actresses are wonderful, but the narrative is a garbled mess that never clears up, including a disturbingly violent scene, followed by an ending poorly shot in glaring sun, that leaves us staring at. . . . Nothing. It was as if they all just quit. The blame for the failure of this film with so much potential belongs completely on both writer and director. They had the chance to tell parallel stories of marital rape and psychiatric treatment-with both women working together toward healing-and they blew it. The alleged psychiatric therapy is ridiculous, there are multiple filler scenes going nowhere, and nothing is ever fully clear or resolved. The title, it turns out, is totally apt, but not for the reason the makers intended. This could have been a superb and important film; instead it limped to a flat closure and became a disappointing time waster. Still, if the viewer can handle that, the lead actresses are both deeply moving. I am glad I saw their performances, but they deserved a better film.