A woman screams in the night as a young, upper-class couple sleeps. The sound is not coming from far away but from inside the woman, Marina, lying there. Spouse, relatives and friends are senseless and indifferent to who she really is. Marina carries on an affair, drinks heavily, and doesn't care either. A rude awakening is in store for everyone.
As Marina is walking home in heels after a night of debauchery her purse is stolen. Going to the police sitting in a patrol car for help only brings unwelcome attention. Marina is gangraped. In the aftermath something inside her snaps and she acts in unexpected ways. Marina leaves her family and pursues one of the depraved officers who raped her. To give someone love who has none of it, to feel powerful, to reevaluate her life, to live authentically, all this and more, or something else entirely, it is difficult to say. Tell me what you think. My head is spinning.
Twilight Portrait is raw, multi-layered and dark. The emotional impact is like a hammer blow. Twilight Portrait took me out of my usual sphere in many ways; the Russian language and culture, more than one woman's perspective, extreme violence and more. The rape scene includes only sound, but it is more deeply jarring this way. The story is based on an actual incident. The characters are multi-dimensional and fascinating. In the indifference of people to each other, the corruption and impunity of those in the public trust and our inability to listen to our hearts, we need to change. Seen from the front rows at the Toronto international film festival.
