Review of Lorna's Silence (2008) by Walter M — 06 Sep 2009

In "Lorna's Silence," Lorna(Arta Dobroshi), originally from Albania, is almost a Belgian citizen which means that her husband Claudy(Jeremie Renier), a junky, has almost outlived his usefulness. Fabio's(Fabrizio Rongione) idea is to kill him, making it look like an overdose which would be simple enough. But after about six months living together, she has taken pity on him during his latest attempt to get clean. So, she bangs herself up to try to make it look like Claudy has been beating her(but not too much to get him arrested) in order to get a quicky divorce. But first, she has to be sure that her next spouse, a Russian, will wait long enough, in order to collect the money from this deal for her and her lover Sokol(Alban Ukaj) to open their dream snack bar.

With "Lorna's Silence," the Dardenne brothers get perilously close to sentimentality in telling a story set in the underground economy where human beings are often reduced to just mere commodities. Fighting this inhumanity and making sacrifices like any other immigrant, this is the world Lorna is caught up in, hoping to move onto a more stable life. As the risks are high, so are the rewards, even if not entirely on a material level.