Stars: Jean-Louis Trintignant, Emmanuelle Riva, Isabelle Huppert, Alexandre Tharaud
Director: Michael Haneke
Oscar History: 5 nominations, 1 win (Best Picture, Director, Actress-Emmanuelle Riva, Original Screenplay, and Foreign Language Film-Austria*); the film also received the Palme d'Or
Snap Judgment Ranking: 3/5 stars
The films of Michael Haneke astonish me. His movies are beautiful, odd, depressing poems about life. The White Ribbon and Cache rank amongst the very best films of their respective years, and at some point in my life, I hope to see all of his work (though the two Funny Games both have me a bit nervous to be watching in my apartment-the lights may have to be on for those). That said, I had heard that this film was very against type, and it certainly is-while there are still the occasional psychological touches of Haneke, this is easily his most relatable film I've seen, and while that makes for a beautiful ode, it left me a little sad (well, a lot of literal sad, but sad in a cinematic expectations game) when I left, hoping that I'd gotten a biting treat instead of a softer tale.(I consider all moments of a film a spoiler, as I love a surprise, so proceed with caution as I'm tackling everything) The film is the story of Anne (Riva) and Georges (Trintignant), a somewhat affluent (at least as evidenced by their digs) couple that are in the twilight of their lives, and after establishing their lovely relationship with each other (that beautiful portrait of eating delicious food, music, books, and going out for concerts and the theater we all dream of our retirement looking like), we see that Anne has had a stroke, and after a botched operation that leaves her right side completely paralyzed, we see Georges having to take care of her.
At first, Anne's pain is more about the emotional change in her life-her mind is still relatively sharp, and while she hates the direction her life is taking, she tries to make the best of it. However, as the film slowly goes by, we see that she loathes the pity that everyone seems to lob at her (we get the sense from the film that she was a woman of some accomplishment, and being put into a state where she can no longer care for herself is making her incredibly depressed). There's a scene, rather early in the film, all-things-considered, where her husband is away and leaving her alone, and she attempts to commit suicide by jumping out the window.
From this moment, she gets worse and worse, and we see her having to rely almost totally on her husband to get her anything she needs, to comb her hair, to help her go to the bathroom, and to eventually change her diapers. Her second stroke causes her to be almost totally incapacitated, randomly shouting words and not being at all able to communicate with her husband or daughter, and not wanting to be seen by anyone.
The film tackles these issues with straight-forward realism. We see Georges, so in love with this woman, easily willing to change his entire life to care for her, to love her, and becoming visibly upset when she resists or wants to throw in the towel. Even in her advanced state, he still finds (or claims to find) some sort of calm in their relationship. Isabelle Huppert's turn as their daughter is equally telling-look at the way she keeps talking to her mother as if nothing has happened, and the frustration she feels knowing there is nothing she can do, and more to the point, nothing she can do from seeing herself as another likely victim of this situation. Old age is hard, and it's something that if we live long enough, we all must endure, and seeing a parent, someone you have relied upon for love and comfort (indeed, in the case of Huppert's character, perhaps the only people that have ever truly loved her) slip away from you is dreadful, and while the film sort of sidelines her character, it's an interesting concept for a different movie.
The film takes itself to the dark places that Haneke always wants to address, and in one of the rare Haneke-laden moments, toward the end of the film, double spoiler alert we see Georges, so upset by his wife's constant struggles and pain, smother her with a pillow to put her out of her misery. It's a testament to the film we have seen before this that we do not spite or hate him for this act of mercy, but merely mourn with him the loss of his wife.
The movie moves along a bit after this, with Georges sort of deciding what to do next-writing letters, taping the door to his wife's room shut, and slowly, we are given the impression that Georges has died too, as his wife appears to have returned and is in the kitchen, washing dishes. They go out, and the film ends with Huppert, walking alone through an empty apartment.
The film's leads, legends of cinema both (The Conformist and Hiroshima, Mon Amour, anyone?) are both equally strong in their starring roles. While Riva has gotten all of the buzz throughout the year, her screen partner is equally as affecting (though he doesn't get the grand acting moments of playing declining health that Riva does). Riva, who is now the oldest woman to ever be nominated for Best Actress, and could soon be the oldest winner ever at the Oscars, is very affecting, and may be the surprise winner on Oscar night, if the Chastain vs. Lawrence race turns into an Adrien Brody situation.
All-in-all, though I was a little disappointed I didn't get a mind-bender like Cache, the film definitely revisits well upon review, and though it's a far-from-pleasant film, it's a solid experiment from a director who has given us much through the years in way of filmic entertainment.
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