The Dardenne brothers' latest is a simple yet powerfully thought-provoking drama with Marion Cotillard giving one of her finest work ever.
Cotillard is - in one word - AMAZING. With just the subtlest of actions, she conveyed the deepest and most complex of emotions. Those eyes are so expressive and were put into great use throughout. Every single high and low that she goes through were felt by the audience. She connected with us on an organic and realistic human level that is so rare in modern cinema.
But the main thing about this film is the simplicity of it all. The Dardennes have made an extremely complex film. A morality play that explored so many themes and Life questions. It looked at The Self and how it relates to oneself, family and others. Simple life questions that have no simple answers. It also explored pride and humility, and how we struggle to choose between them.
However, the Dardennes chose to portray these themes more implicitly by focusing on Cotillard and not the people who she had to convince. This movie could have been portrayed in another manner with the focus on the people instead; casting a group of talented actors to illuminate the moral struggle. Although of course it will be more difficult to get a group of Cotillards rather then just one of her.
Cotillard definitely deserved her Oscar nomination. At least even more so than Rosamund Pike. A pity that the script was not recognised for its simple complexity.
The ending was also wonderfully
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