Director: Olivier Assayas
By Alex Watson
Despite two great performances by Juliette Binoche and Kristen Stewart, Olivier Assayas' Clouds of Sils Maria is slightly let down by a frustrating ambiguous feel. Set mainly in the glistening Swiss Alps, the film at times has an electric and unique play to its scenes. But the fine line between reality and fantasy sometimes can be a confusing one. But in the midst of everything, Assayas has created something that perhaps deserves further analysis!
Maria Enders (Juliette Binoche) is an acclaimed actress who has lives with her full time assistant and friend Valentina (Kristen Stewart). Recently she has been asked to appear in a different role in the same play that made her famous, Maloja Snake. Playing the older woman part comes as a shock to her system as she identified so closely with the younger woman, Sigrid on both stage and screen. Also she is not keen on the choice of popular young actress Jo-Ann Ellis (Chloe Grace Moretz).
As we open on the pair taking a train to Zurich to accept an award for Maria's longtime playwright friend, we see Valentina juggling different calls without batting an eyelid. Their relationship together is one of the films main firing pins, as it is a relationship so close that it effectively mirrors the one of Maloja Snake. One scene sees them casually stripped off and going for a naked swim like it was anything else. Whether rehearsing lines or living their normal lives the thin line between reality and fantasy is one that is increasingly blurred and at times, you feel Valentina voicing her fears through the lines of Sigrid.
But although Assayas present us with a cleverly written script, the story in Clouds of Sils Maria is at times hard to decipher. Yes I realize this is very much his intention and the way this plays out is clever and keeps our mind constantly ticking. However, it also leaves us slightly unfulfilled by its conclusion and will have us asking all kinds of questions which will probably take multiple viewings to gain closure on! There is a highly distorted feeling to proceedings which match the insecurities, fears and doubts of Maria and her inability to escape from what is becoming an increasing nightmare.
The burden of playing the older woman role is one that weighs heavily on proceedings as we slowly begin to realize that her whole career has been formed by the younger woman role. “I’m Sigrid, and I want to stay Sigrid,”she pleads at one stage. Realities of life have closed up on her and she is now feeling confined in a role that no longer interests her. Maria is an actress who is get gradually older and more alienated from the acting industry. Early on we learn she has rejected a new role in X-Men because she is 'sick of hanging from wires'. Throughout she exposes her lack of knowledge and appreciation of Jo-Ann and seems her bad reputation as a warning sign. The scenes where Valentina attempts to discuss various pop culture figures, only to met with a nonchalant reply from Maria firmly stamp her self imposed exile.
Juliette Binoche demonstrates just why she is still one of the finer European actresses around with a magnificent melancholic performance as Maria. Playing woman gradually slipping away from a world she no longer understands, Binoche is simply wonderful and holds the screen effortlessly. Kristen Stewart however rings in a career best turn as Valentina which combines expert subtly of emotion mixed with an ever increasing distance to her employer. Post Twilight, few would have expected this type of turn, her future like Robert Pattinson's seems to be brightening!
Clouds of Sils Maria is by no means a perfect film, but it one that is intriguing and perhaps will make us want to revisit it to unlock future theories.
No comments:
Post a Comment