De rouille et d'os / Rust and Bone (2012)

Stéphanie: "Qu'est-ce que vous avez fait de mes jambes?"

By Jacques Audiard
With Marion Cotillard and Matthias Shoenaerts

I heard about De rouille et d'os when it came out, I think it was about the time of the Cannes Festival and since the movie was shown there I heard about it. Marion Cotillard has gained quite a popularity after her success in American big movies and therefore she is quite talked about. I decided to see that movie last year but never got around to actually do it, until tonight.

Alain leaves Belgium penniless and with his 5 years old son Sam. He sets out for Antibes, in the south east France to meet with his sister. He finds a job as a bouncer to a night club and this is where he meets Stéphanie for the first time, she got into a fight and can't drive home so he brings her home. While Alain grows increasingly interested in underground fighting, Stéphanie has an accident at her job where she is a killer whale trainer. A few months after, Stéphanie is in a wheelchair and very lonely, this is when she decides to give Alain a call. The two will form an unlikely relationship which will have to be defined as whether a friendship or a romantic relationship while they both struggle with being taken seriously and learning to live.

The story is quite an emotional one and I was a little disappointed by how it seemed to try to cash in on the shock effect of someone disabled trying to live a normal life. In a way the topic has been exploited quite a few times in recent history so I was a little dubious of how it would turn out at first. I wasn't fully convinced by the turn it took but I have to say it offers more topics than simply struggling with a disability.

Fortunately, those others topics are actually dealt with in a more interesting way, even though they might not be discussed outspokenly, one can feel the tension between the two main characters and these are underlying topics. The movie is beautiful yet sketchy, I found for example the use of sun flares to be over used.

One thing I struggled with was the main characters inspired nothing in me. Alain felt really uninspired and while Stéphanie is well portrayed, it seems to be cashing more on pity than her internal struggles to come back and live after her accident. Fortunately, where the two characters meet is where the real interest lie and their (awkward) chemistry is the strength of the film. I have to say I found most of the side topics to be out of place or useless, even the addition of Alain's child seems to be here just for figuration. Same goes for the camera drama and the overall fighting business, they felt superfluous to me. Even though a lot of events seem to force out a reaction from the viewer, the movie ends up being quite a feel good movie and the killer whales scenes are really beautiful.

I liked: Opinionated topics and characters. Good, yet awkward chemistry. Killer whales.

I disliked: Succession of drama for the sake of it. Lack of likable characters. Sketchy.

59/100
The romance part is probably the strongest suit, so it should fulfill those who enjoy romances.