Review of Fat Girl (2001) by Cem Ü — 22 Nov 2007

Excellent coming-of-age story wrapped in a sharp critical gaze into the traumatic unit of the bourgeois nuclear family. There wasn't a single shot that detracts the viewer and although the story is smooth and less with fluctuations in levels of tension (until the end, that is), there is an ongoing sense of anxiety that pervades the film's background. This is mostly done through inconspicuous cinematography -basic shots & angles in plain colors, coupled with dialogue that oscillates between the characters and the directors mind, all contribute to an anxiety not unlike Haneke's films, where the terror of everyday life may show its ugly and sinister head any moment (the highway driving scene fr ex.). Lots of psychoanalytical material here, based on female/sibling rivalry, the Electra complex, rite-of-passage, the hymen in the mind/between the legs etc.

Excellent script, excellent acting... Can't wait to see other films of Catherine Breillat...