Review of Rust and Bone (2012) by Ray H — 20 Jan 2013

A satisfying drama and romance. The story is fairly simple. It depicts the origin and building of a couple's relationship over the course of some months; perhaps a year or longer. This is a normal, average, pair of realistically drawn people. This is in notable contrast to the Hollywood tendency to focus primarily on hier income groups and their foibles and troubles. The story held my interest. It developed in an intriguing manner. There were no explosions, gun shots, or car chases. There was some fairly brutal, bare knuckle, underground fighting. It was something like a French FIGHT CLUB.

The two lead actors are very good. The dialogue is spare. There is a good balance of action and dialogue. The story has none of the neurotic, excessive, navel gazing dialogue that directors like Woody Allen are known for. Stephanie (Marion Cotillard) is seriously captivating, even stunningly good. This woman is very attractive; with a strong sensual side. She has precious little dialogue. But, she is able to do a lot w/ her facial expressions and body language. Her romantic interest is Ali (Matthias Schoenaerts). He is a single dad, unemployed, and intensely self-centered. Ali has some fighting skills and parlays that into some underground, fights-for-dollars. Early on, Stephanie loses her legs belo the knees. We see her struggles w/ this devastating injury. The CGI effects convince us that this woman has lost her legs. It was quite impressively done.

It was a good trip to the flics.