Review of Rust and Bone (2012) by Todd G — 17 Jan 2013

A character drama in which a struggling but rugged father befriends a recently crippled woman. Troubles compound, however, as the relationship skirts around romance.

Schoenaerts again plays an ultra-masculine figure (following last year's Foreign Language nominated Bullhead), a boxer named Ali, who has trouble making good decisions. Cotillard plays a secure and confident woman who loses it all following an accident, leaving her waifish and frail. Reaching out to a man she only barely knows is the only act she is capable of.

>From there his love of life works to lift her out of her funk, but new challenges happen as their friendship borders on romance, despite Ali's womanizing ways. But the slow blossoming of her will glows in the movie, and his natural charm wins us over, despite his thick-headedness and mistakes.

A bit more nuanced that your standard character study, tempered by an understanding of Cotillard's character's loss, but this is may not be the plot driven movie that some might hope for.

And the fact that it The Intouchables is a similar story (without the romance) does cut into the impact that this film makes.