Sibyl

David Lynch-esque, in my street, French: Sybil, you are... a psychoanalytic romance, between a former novelist and actresses, with a sharing of the script, passion, patience, recordings... with perplexity, the unfolding of the staged puzzle, without genius, from the whisper in the ear of the complaining patient, it must be... it's dizzying, moments of interest, I complain=ridicule.

I can't recall seeing a film with so many good and great elements: cinematography, acting, a good deal of great dialogue, that was assembled into such a let down of total experience. It is like observing a kid who is smart, has everything, goes to he best schools -- yet goes nowhere in life.

I don't know where this project went wrong. Was it deep flaws from the beginning and they went ahead without resolving them, or was it some kind of creative fight in post production, perhaps about comedy vs drama as the goal in editing?

It could be a kind of french Mulholland Drive. The materials where there: the affections of the past, the psychological insight, the fiction inside the fiction, fantasies, memories...

A failed writer retakes her old dream to write a beautiful novel, but her lacks of inspiration block her... until she met an actress, who tells her about her troubles. Quickly Sibyl sees a paralelism with her past, about her frustrated love with a man that bring her a passion and then another trauma related with a son they had. Sibyl lost her literal aspirations and her love and in ten years she discovered herself having a life that is safe, with some client as therapist and a husband that gives her estability. But none of these are now valid items to her.

The materials, as I said are good, but by one side the dialogue is too melodramatic, sometimes the scenes turns cartoonish and melodrama doesn't fits very well with the tone of the film, a psychologial drama. The scenes are also too repetitive, once we understand her old past love was very passionate, we don't need three more scenes of kissing and stuff.

By other side, the other characters, aside form Sibyl, doesn't feel with depth, something is missing with all of them.

It's a pity, because the idea is very good. A lost opportunity.

This is quite an interesting film and, unlike some other reviewers here, I really enjoyed the central performance. Disturbingly like Jennifer Lawrence at times, Efira handles the variety of tones and context very well, I think - despite the film deliberately taking her all over the place emotionally. I used to think that "Blue is the Warmest Colour" was the most snot-laden film I had ever seen, courtesy of Adele's copious crying, and she is well-chosen to deliver similar over-the-top distress here. In contrast, I didn't much like the director character, and for me the men were a bit too interchangeable.

Worth a look though.

This film is a mess of unsavory characters and bad, ridiculously unlikely decision. Some of the acting is good, the storyline is silly, the sex gratuitous and graphic. There is not one interesting character. Despite the attempt to give some background to why sybil is so messed up (an absent mother from whom she distanced herself and a sister who gives sybil's children lectures on how to be manipulative) it's a fail all around.