First Hit: A great performance by Kristin Scott Thomas in a good story.
The last film I saw with Kristin Scott Thomas was “I’ve Loved You So Long” which was an extraordinary performance of a woman slowly learning how to live life again after she killed her son out of mercy.
Here she plays Suzanne a stay at home mom of two young teenage kids and wife of a successful doctor. She makes the meals, takes the kids to their activities and has everything she needs. In her quest to get back into her career of being a physical therapist, her husband contracts to have their carriage house redecorated so that she can have a place to practice.
To clean the area out, her husband Samuel (played by Yvan Attal) hires Ivan (played by Sergi Lopez) a former prisoner who longs to find some money and stability in his life so that he can spend time with his young daughter.
Suzanne begins to help Ivan clean out the space and one day in her haste to give him his paycheck, he becomes injured by her car. Hurt and unable to meet up with his daughter, Suzanne makes up for her mistake and drives him to the town where his daughter is living. One night they have dinner and they begin to tell their personal stories to each other.
In the film, this is where they gain an attraction towards each other. However, I didn’t see the chemistry between them which had me hesitating a bit about the story. Yet, as actors they played their part exquisitely and made the relationship very believable.
The affair they start quickly becomes obsessive and they think of nothing else than to be with each other. Samuel “forbids” Suzanne from seeing Ivan again but the obsession is complete and there is nothing they won’t do to be together.
Scott Thomas was amazing. She is beautiful, but beauty only goes so far and it is her ability to feel and portray her intense desire to rid herself of a life which was affectionately unfulfilling was amazing. There are numerous close ups that give you a peak into an amazing performance. Lopez, was very good as the the humble man who connected with Suzanne. The far better looking Attal was appropriately arrogant as Suzanne’s possessive and unrelenting husband. Catherine Corsini and Gaelle Mace wrote this screen play and Corsini directed this with a sharp woman’s eye and point of view.
Overall: A good film with some great performances.