Review of Rust and Bone (2012) by David D — 25 Jan 2013
Marion Cotillard, a much deserved Oscar winner for La Vie En Rose, is an actress worth following anywhere. Her talents are exquisite, possessed of radiant beauty and grace. In Rust and Bone Cotillard plays Stephanie a trainer of orcas at an aquarium on the French Riviera. Life is good for Stephanie, who enjoys casual encounters with men like boxer Ali (Mattias Schoenaerts), whom she meets at a local club.
Her life is forever changed when she loses both her legs in a work accident, shown in grisly detail. Stephanie's entire being is shattered. Ali, who also struggles to raise his five-year-old son, mentors her in rediscovering her sense of being and purpose and lust for life. Writer-director Jacques Audiard (the masterwork A Prophet) deftly gets us inside the heads of two people in crises both physical and mental. The effect is hypnotic. His film means to burrow inside your head and stay there and that it does. Schoenaerts turns in a fantastic performance, fully layered and Cotillard is all kinds of astonishing. Another outstanding performance.
This review of Rust and Bone (2012) was written by David D on 25 Jan 2013.
Rust and Bone has generally received very positive reviews.
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