Review of Rust and Bone (2012) by Nate W — 04 Jan 2013

Jacques Audiard shines a harsh, unflinching light on human emotion in "Rust and Bone", a hard-edged love story conveyed by two outstanding lead performances from Matthias Schoenaerts and Marion Cotillard.

Ali (Schoenaerts) is a vagrant street fighter who hardly seems an appropriate fit to raise his five-year-old son Sam. He freeloads at his sister's place while renting himself out for security services and winning cash in organized fistfights. Stephanie (Cotillard) is a whale trainer at Marineland until a fateful accident takes both her legs and plunges her into depression. The two form a relationship that starts merely as physical , but deepens as they discover in each other something worth living for.

"Rust and Bone" is an unusual romance in that there's nothing romantic about it. Audiard, in a style similar to his merciless prison film A Prophet, bares his characters' emotions without the slightest trace of sentiment or melodrama. It's a tough way for his two leads to sell the love story, but they're equal to the task. Schoenaerts (who was excellent in last year's Bullhead) has clearly mastered the art of restraint; a boiler of confused feelings simmering beneath masculine pride. Cotillard, meanwhile, strips herself down to the essence of depression and vulnerability. Hers is a difficult portrayal of a tough personality reverted to tender fragility by cruel misfortune. She brilliantly evokes empathy without asking us to warm up to her.