Avec amour et acharnement

Not going to claim this is the best one by Denis, but it is still a good go by the 70-plus French stalwart. If anyone else had made a movie out of the Angot novel, it would not be anywhere near as good. Denis gets terrific work out of the troupers Lindon and Binoche, and finds real depth in material, that maybe is not all that deep actually.

Next time around, she brings to the screen one of the late novels by the wonderful American writer, Denis Johnson. No relation, of course.

Both Sides of the Blade (2022) follows a couple who's lives are changed when the woman's ex boyfriend comes back into the picture. I'm not quite sure how I feel about this film. It was definitely good and packed a punch, but don't go into it expecting a gritty romance thriller. It was a very personal film and I have a lot of respect for it.

I really liked the cinematography, it was subtle yet created a significant atmosphere. The lighting choices were very good and every shot was well lit, there were some nice colour palettes too. There were plenty of extreme close-up shots that showed the characters' emotions and the shots were very long too with a lack of jump-cuts which I felt worked well.

The music used was very fitting to the tone of the film and it wasn't too overbearing which I liked. However, there was really anything to talk about in terms of general sound design and I would've liked to see more from it.

The phenomenal performances from all involved definitely carried this film. The movie was a very intimate character study and it worked well as the film spends a good amount of time to introduce us to the three main characters, who are all quite interesting and felt realistic! Also, there was quite a lot of dialogue that was very thought provoking and engaging.

The film was slow paced, and unfortunately it occasionally dragged a bit. It took a while to get into because there wasn't much driving force in terms of plot and I would've liked for there to be more to it. However, the last 20 minutes were very intense and I thoroughly enjoyed the final act.

As an Avid movie goer I found Both Sides of the Blade as one of the best movies I have watched in the last few years. It reminded me on Red, Blue, White and Double Life of Veronica. In a way it is not as deep as those movies; it has a very simple plot depicting human psyche, emotions, insecurities, doubts, desire, relationships and it's challenges that can happen to anyone in the real life. If you're into art cinema you will be very happy watching this one. Both protoganists Juliette Binoche and Vincent Lindon act incredibly well. JB act makes this movie close to a masterpiece.

I have rarely seen a so accurate story, too much accurate maybe, because it may be disturbing if one way or another, you have yourself lived those situations. Awesome actors - and actress - performances that make it even more powerful. French movies are excellent in such topics, dialogues are so real, as in real life. The story is very common, without any surprise, but so well done, in a different manner than for instance Claude Sautet did in CESAR ET ROSALIE which was smoother for more or less the same plot, but Yves Montand, Samy Frey and Romy Schneider would had not fit with so extreme scenes. However maybe I am wrong. Anyway I guess that CESAR AND ROSALIE inspired Claire Denis for this film.

Christine Angot's novel Un tournant de la vie is filmed as Avec amour et acharnement and the results are mixed. I have been a fan of Claire Denis' work since Chocolat; she has always struck me as someone who has her finger on society's pulse better than most directors do. I wonder if her purpose here was to do a remake of Jules et Jim--certainly that's the feeling I'm left with as I watch Binoche fighting with Lindon as he tries to make her admit that she kissed Colin at the reception. The skill of these three actors is so evident, but so is the thinness of the script. Why show Binoche at the radio station interviewing the footballer Lilian Thuram talking about racism, it adds nothing to the story. Lindon's past as a rugby player and his prison sentence are only alluded to, surely they need further development. Gregoire Colin has made six films with Denis and fits in with her plan so well but I wish his part had been bigger. See this one if you are a Denis completist.