PORTRAIT OF A LADY ON FIRE
****
Dir: Céline Sciamma (15, 121 mins)
A simmering, intense romance played with heartbreaking conviction, this 18th-century tale, set on a remote island in Brittany, lingers long in the memory. Noémie Merlant plays Marianne, an artist commissioned to paint Héloïse (played by Adèle Haenel) by her mother in order to secure her daughter’s wedding and her future in a world where women can rarely make their own way. Marianne lives in the shadow of her father’s work and is desperate to create her own artistic voice. What follows is a very slow-burning love story, conveyed through lingering glances and elliptical gestures, as the superb Merlant and Haenel fall for each other under Sciamma’s brilliant direction. When they can finally reveal how they feel about each other, it’s electric and shot from a female gaze – no prurience here. Can their love survive in a society that will not allow it? The story is given several other feminist strands as the maid of the house falls pregnant – it’s unwanted and the upper-class women aid her with no comment or judgement, making herbal draughts, and ultimately taking her to a woman who can perform what is necessary as a baby holds her hand. The central duo are restricted by the expectations of society; the mother, played with sensitivity by Valeria Golino, is desperate for her daughter to have options and security. Her other daughter turned to suicide to avoid being forced into a loveless marriage. The nature of art is debated: can form and precision be a substitute for emotion? Who is being examined, the artist’s model or the artist herself? The themes are multifaceted and delivered with the lightest of touches, but all truly resonate. Writer/director Sciamma takes a nuanced approach with flawed yet believable characters, and the whole film is achingly romantic, with a final scene that will leave you in tears. Superb.
Opens Feb 28
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