Review of Rust and Bone (2012) by Pampalini L — 11 Sep 2013

Rust and Bone (De rouille et d'os) is by far this year's toughest contender for Oscars in the Best Foreign Language Film category. Based on a short story by Craig Davidson, French director Jacques Audiard (A Prophet, the Beat that My Heart Skipped, Read My Lips) projects the story about two unconventional people: one a poverty-stricken bare knuckle fighter Ali, played by Matthias Schoenaerts (real tongue twister, Schwarzenegger you have a competition now) and the other, a physically-challenged whale trainer Stephenie, played by Marion Cottilard.

Audiard calls Rust and Bone a melotrash, serving a luscious mix of tragedy, love, reality and companionship. Audiard's films create a familiar world with characters who are often Lost Souls, trying to fit into the society and struggling hard to find any objectivity in their existence. His commitment to tell stories about reality shines with such intensity that it is hard to point out any weakness in the film.

I don't consider Ali and Stephenie as characters, they are real people with real issues and both of them are seriously flawed. Ali is making no progress in becoming a good father while Stephenie needs to embrace herself again after the terrible accident that left her in a wheelchair. At one point I felt the writer-director didn't even consider including anything happy in the script. All this sadness and toil that Ali and Stephenie had to go through seemed a bit protracted. But I'll forgive him for this simple glitch.

Schoenaerts' portrays Ali with such naiveness that you tend to compare him with Ryan Gosling's character in Blue Valentine. And I don't consider myself qualified enough to describe Marion Cotillard's virtuous performance, this role was written for her and she has humanized it to perfection.

The two distinct character arcs: Ali evolving just during the last sequence and Stephenie evolving throughout the movie makes it more believable. Also, the scenes involving the erotic propositions are painstakingly crafted. Audiard with his co-writer Thomas Bidegain have created a layered and unpredictable script. But the translated version of the Original Script is an unpleasant reading experience. The common father-son relationship theme that is present in almost every movie of Audiard slithers in Rust and Bone too.

The smoothly floating steadicam shots and dazzling bookah lights complemented by crispy editing makes the visuals quite rich. Also, Stephenie's amputated legs look so natural that for a second I was convinced Marion had cut off her legs for the role (I should really stop jumping to conclusions). Great work the special effects team!

This is not Audiard at his best but it's more like Audiard giving himself a tribute.