Review of The Immigrant (2013) by Manny C — 06 Jun 2014

Describing a James Gray film can be a huge pain in the ass, whether its The Yards or Little Odessa, or gems like We Own The Night and Two Lovers. The plots are sprawling, but always imbued with raw emotion, and always they're laced with an artistry that can make movie lovers swoon. Gray's films are not for the short attention span crowd. The Immigrant is his Douglas Sirk moment and its a doozy.

The Immigrant begins in 1921 with Polish immigrant Ewa Cybulska (Marion Cotillard), arriving at Ellis Island with her sister Magda (Angela Sarafyan), who is quarantined when its discovered she has tuberculosis. From there Ewa comes under the creepy influence of Bruno Weiss )Joaquin Phoenix), who entices her with the promise of a new, comfortable life, but instead pimps her out. Ewa feels that Bruno's magician cousin, the Great Orlando (Jeremy Renner), could be what she needs, but degradation and tough luck is always lurking.

It only sounds like the stuff of hollow melodrama, but Gray and his star make it a hypnotic meditation on the American dream, something that was broken almost before it was even conceived. Phoenix is implosive while Renner is electric, both holding secrets close to the vest. But Cotillard, channeling silent screen icons, is the scene-stealer, her face an emotionally bruised reflection of the grieving heart that lurks within The Immigrant, an outstanding film from a most underrated filmmaker.