Review of I've Loved You So Long (2008) by Vaibhav W — 16 Apr 2010

Philippe Claudel's debut film, "I've Loved You So Long," could have been great, but it's saturated with a bourgeois, PBS-type tone that drains most of the drama away. The story also has a tendentious, journalistic quality, being more a vehicle to raise questions about social issues than tell stories about actual people. It's too pat.

When we meet the main character, played a bit too flatly and morosely by Kristin Scott Thomas, she is reconnecting with her sister. Little by little, startling details about her are revealed, such as that she was just recently released from prison.

I cannot discuss any more of the story without revealing the plot surprises, so I'll just say that the big question hanging in the air throughout the film is how good people can do horrific things. Then some surprises at the tail end raise even more topical social issues. By the end, I felt like I was reading a feature story in the New York Times instead of watching a film.