Review of Clouds of Sils Maria (2014) by Glenn G — 30 Apr 2015

ALL ABOUT ALEVE - My Review of CLOUDS OF SILS MARIA (4 Stars).

Writer/Director Olivier Assayas, whose work on CARLOS I greatly admired, has returned with the quiet, meditative CLOUDS OF SILS MARIA. Featuring a trio of fantastic performances by Juliette Binoche, Kristen Stewart, and Chloe Grace Moretz, this backstage showbiz drama takes on issues such as aging, identity, relevancy, honesty, feminism, agism, and the inevitability of change. Think of it as a modern day ALL ABOUT EVE, but with headier concerns.

The hushed tones of the film are not for everybody and are highly reminiscent of the late Eric Rohmer's work. Very talky and complex, with overt themes spelled out in nearly every conversation, the film tells the story of Maria Enders (Binoche), who accepts a part in a play revival which made her a star decades earlier. Now, however, she's been cast to play the older character, with her original role going to a Lindsay Lohan-esque actress Jo-Ann Ellis (Moretz). For the bulk of the film, Maria holes up in the chalet of the late writer to better absorb the part and rehearse with her incredibly competent personal assistant, Valentine (Stewart).

Soon the lines get blurred between reality and the play they're picking apart, whose subject and circumstances seem to mirror what's right in front of them. The chalet is in the shadow of a Swiss Alpine weather phenomenon called the Maloja Snake, which also is the name of the play Binoche is in. Essentially a rolling fog/cloud formation that works its way through a mountain pass, the metaphor of its mystery and reliability to charge ahead will not be lost on the viewers of this film. That's because the script goes to great lengths to make sure you get it.

Regardless, this is is a truly engaging film, but not without its flaws. Nearly every male role in the film is awkwardly performed and somewhat thankless. There is a very strange interlude in the film in which Valentine takes a road trip that defines ambiguity and will lead to after-movie discussions. Same goes for a late-in-the-movie scene with Binoche and Stewart; the less said the better. Trust me, you'll be talking about it. Sometimes the dialogue is highly stilted, yet our two leads always find a way to ground it in reality with their considerable chemistry.

Stewart won the Cesar Award for Best Supporting Actress, the first American actress to ever win France's equivalent to the Oscars, and it's easy to see why. Stewart is assured, complicated, and so entirely present in her scenes. She and Binoche work up such a lovely rapport, prickly one moment and affectionate the next. It's by no means a showy role, bereft of that big scene actors chew on in order to win statuettes. Instead, Stewart is focused, presenting a highly accurate depiction of the assistant's life. This isn't a wisecracking Thelma Ritter performance. Valentine must be a jack of all trades, as proficient in rehearsing as she is in making travel plans, and Stewart invests herself so completely in this role. With her performance here and in STILL ALICE (and let's not forget she's done stellar work before in PANIC ROOM, INTO THE WILD, and ADVENTURELAND), she may just yet succeed in making me forget the TWILIGHT SAGA.

Binoche has always been great. I look back on an incredible career with her star-making turn in THE UNBEARABLE LIGHTNESS OF BEING and subsequent stellar performances (ok, we can pretend GODZILLA never happened!), and see that the role of Maria is a meta-critique of her own experiences. Everything that Maria experiences clearly has a counterpart in Binoche's own life, and her brave, tough-as-nails portrayal is a career highlight.

Moretz doesn't appear until very late in the film, but she leaves her mark as a character with impressive duality. One moment, she's the strung out starlet we're used to seeing stumbling panty-free out of limos on TMZ, and the next she's lucid, highly articulate,and pulled together. There's either scenes of scary ambition in her squinting eyes or no doubt a half bottle of Visine in others, and it begs the question, "Which one is the real Jo-Ann?" The fun of this role is finding out the answer, and her final scene with Binoche is a knockout.

Yorick Le Saux's cinematography is simple yet effective, but the real technical star here is Production Designer François-Renaud Labarthe, whose stage set for the play-within-the-movie alone is something he needs to put in his highlight reel for the remainder of his career. Contrasting so sharply with the nature photography that comes before it, the set is a jaw-dropping, highly imaginative realization of a modern office. If only the stage musical to 9 TO 5 had Labarthe on their team!

Again, this isn't a film for those who need action, loud soundtracks, or explanations. It's small, haunting charms, however, will resonate with moviegoers who have grown tired of the BOOM BOOM POW.