Let the Sunshine In

A rather one-note film about a frustrating character that I probably would have reviewed more harshly had it not starred the luminous Juliette Binoche.

Binoche plays a woman who's fallen into a repetitive cycle of starting up love affairs -- sometimes with the wrong guy, sometimes with someone who might be a right guy -- but then bailing on them because of her own inability to open herself up emotionally. And that's the movie. There's not much of a character arc to her -- the life events that have put herwhere she is have already happened when the movie starts, and she doesn't learn much of anything about herself or her own responsibility in being lonely and miserable that suggests anything is going to change. A generous interpretation of the ending might, I suppose, hint at future happiness, but I chose, cynic that I am, to interpret it instead as yet another desperate attempt made by Binoche's character to find love that requires no effort on her part. Apparently, she thinks she can just wait patiently and it will fall from the sky into her lap.

"Let the Sunshine In" isn't a boring film, but it's not an especially engaging one either. You will have to find Juliette Binoche herself interesting as an actress if you're going to enjoy this film, as it's virtually a one-woman show.

Grade: B

Audiences went into this French drama as if they were partaking in a romcom buffet at their local boulangerie, but unsurprisingly came out disappointed when they weren't given the usual Katherine Heigl American trash that pollutes the genre. This is not a traditional romantic comedy. I repeat, not a traditional romcom. It is a drama about love, layering themes of romance and philosophies on life through an almost schizophrenic perspective. And with that, Denis has produced a wonderfully intimate portrayal of modern love through her ornate methods of artistic direction. A woman, struggling to find love, becomes involved with multiple men in an attempt to find stability and a relationship.

On the surface, this resembles a vapid pretentious outlook on the morality of men and emotional instability of women. However if you inspect Denis' contemporary storytelling techniques, it's actually a personable venture of self-discovery. A woman acquiring the fragility and tenderness that love shares with its victims, both a curse and a blessing. Coming to terms with how delicate a relationship can be, with a persistence on why certain aspects "should not be rushed".

The various men she encounters all treat her differently. A rich banker uses her to cheat on his wife, an actor regrets sleeping with her on the first meet and her ex-boyfriend/husband is unable to rekindle their flame. The only man who she believes treats her appropriately is seemingly the complete opposite to her personality, with her colleagues subconsciously planting doubt in her mind.

Denis consistently hones in on her neurotic behaviour which, whilst provides a very subtle amount of humour, allows her to experience the pain of love. It does inadvertently force her character to be disconnected with the audience, and on occasion results in her having a low morality compass. Yet fortunately the drama is shrouded in humanity. Everything felt natural. What helped elevate this was Denis' direction. A ludicrous amount of one take scenes allow us to become involved in their lives. The most notable of these being an eight minute unedited scene to which she talks to a banker at a bar. It also showcases Binoche's fantastic performance as she switches between emotions almost instantly. One second she is happily in love, the next filling her mind with doubt.

The scenes of sexual nature however felt rather excessive, particularly the introductory scene, that detracted from Denis' classy artistry. It may have highlighted the sleazy behaviour of these characters, but contrasts with the delicate portrayal of love. A nice touch that I found noteworthy was the concluding conversation with Depardieu. Midway through, the credits start rolling to emphasise the distractions that romances can cause, and it's these sort of contemporary details that enhance the film's interpretation.

Denis is certainly crafting films that aren't particularly accessible to the typical audience, but that does not result in her films being just exercises in vapidity. There's an intricate amount of humanity that brings life to this unconventional "romcom" that really should not be blocking that elusive sunshine.

... in its focus on unsatisfactory relationships - and it even has Depardieu in a pointless cameo role!

At one level, it's not too surprising that a well-regarded female artist of a certain age would have trouble finding a suitable partner following her divorce. However, her inability does seem at least somewhat self-inflicted, as she keeps latching on to married and otherwise unavailable men - some of whom are clearly complete arseholes. Indeed, there were so many of these I lost track of who was supposed to be "just a friend" and who was her current lover, and what might happen in her future.

Worth a look, but not Binoche's best, IMHO.

I don't recall any other time when I related with a protagonist in a film this much. Every aspect of the lead character, Isabelle was portraying me ...some much so that I felt 'naked' emotionally. Claire Denis is a living legend. Juliette Binoche is an amazing actress...definitely a performance worthy of an Oscar

The tension between wanting something from someone and the fact that it must be given freely and not asked for is at the heart of this film with its typically brilliant performance from Juliette Binoche. Does Isabelle (Binoche) really know what she wants? It seems to be long-lasting romantic love. She hasn't had a lot of luck in that area, despite being beautiful, charming and successful in her career as an artist. We first see her with an unappealing married man. After a lengthy discussion with him, she seems to give up and moves on to a handsome, much younger actor (Nicolas Duvauchelle). He's also married and undecided about divorcing his wife. A typical dilemma, but for Isabelle it seems to be a pattern. These men are simply not available. Later, at a dance club, Isabelle meets someone who seems quite interested, even if he looks like an aging rock star (the kind who didn't get fat). We soon see the same conflict develop: Isabelle wants something the man cannot give, or not right away anyway. There follows a very brief flirtation with a friend of a friend and Isabelle ends up meeting with a counselor of some kind (Gérard Depardieu) who seems to tell her that her life has simply gone as it should...most enigmatically, that she will meet a man who understands and connects with her, but he too will not be "the one". The counselor says that Isabelle must become aware of her "beautiful inner sun" and be content with herself as she is.

In some ways this recent work of Claire Denis can remind a viewer of a film of Eric Rohmer, LE BEAU MARIAGE in particular. Endless discussion about what the protagonist wants. Simply wanting something from someone is not enough to make it happen. But the cinematic style of Claire Denis is miles away from Rohmer's. The editing alone puts UN BEAU SOLEIL INTÉRIEUR firmly in the art film category. Editing and narrative technique, mainly carried out through one-on-one conversation are sometimes elliptical and leave a viewer to decide what has happened. There is also an odd 'nature walk' with strangers who have a lot to say about seemingly nothing, causing Isabelle to go mad for a moment. Perhaps this is to show the extent of her frustration with life and with people in general. Denis chooses to end the film with the counselor scene: a long sequence composed mainly of close-ups of Depardieur while the final credits run, superimposed over the actors' faces.

An often funny film, very compelling thanks to Binoche's exasperating yet amiable characterization.