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One of the things I loved about this film was the fact that we have the quintessential Englishwoman, living in Paris, whose daily existence is an overwhelmingly francophone one. Ozone then enables us to explore how love across a potential linguistic divide can be observed.
Ozone shows us his directorial love and respect for the iconic Charlotte Rampling, in this film which is both very emotionally and psychologically complex and touching. Rampling handles the issues in this film in an amazingly natural, almost instinctive way. She represents a woman ‘of a certain age’, who is iconoclastic in that she is not only able to remain physically desirable, but also, her mindset is far from showing any signs of ageing. Marie’s world is rudely, unexpectedly shattered while she is in a very benign, familiar situation, and she then has to cope with the horrible reality of uncertainty, loneliness, emotional craving, fragility and balancing all of this with the need to survive in the so-called normal world”, where it can be so easy to be understood by everyone.
The presentation of reality and fantasy in our heroine’s mind make this film very interesting. The psychological portrayal of Marie’s character is beautifully handled and Rampling was the perfect choice. From the start of the film to the end we are taken on a journey where the denouement is gradual, yet, somehow makes us feel that Ozone is staying true to the character he has created.
Ozone handles the often unpalatable everyday, social, family and professional obstacles and angsts that have to be overcome, and how relationships in all of these contexts can test an individual.
This film has great emotional depth and range which were realised by Rampling. The rest of the cast were also impeccable particularly Bruno Cremer her husband, Jean, and Andree Tainsy, as her mother-in-law.
Rating: 5 / 5
Charlotte Rampling gives a fantastic performance in this slow, but elegantly portrayed film of a woman’s grief over the disappearance of her husband on a holiday to the seaside. Her manner of self assured optimism in the face the loss of her husband is deeply moving in its strident motives of self-deception. The long shots of Rampling contemplating the empty space of her apartment and the unexpected appearance of her husband leave the viewer gripped in anticipation of whether or not her fabricated reality will continue or shatter around her feet. Most fitfully, her character is a lecturer on fiction and is discussing with her students Virginia Woolf’s ‘The Waves.’ This is an interesting reference to Woolf’s great experimental novel dealing with ageing, loss and the timorous bonds between individuals. Rampling’s character inhabits the struggle with dealing with these elements in life and embodies a contradiction in their acceptance that cannot be reconciled. What this film captures so elegantly are the physical touches and familiar routines of a long-term love. The habit of her love for her husband is represented in her movements and the interaction she has with her husband’s “ghost” or “shadow.” The end, purposely and rightfully, does not give away whether or not her denial over her husband’s death will be accepted or eternally refused. This is a haunting, delicately beautiful film.
Rating: 4 / 5
I must add to Eric’s astute review some comments on Charlotte Rampling’s poerformance in this film. She is magical to watch, and has developed her glacial demeanor and skill at wordless evocation into a fine art. Supported by a great script and cast, she gives a masterful performance, which is the jewel in her film career to date.
Rating: 5 / 5
François Ozon’s Under the Sand is a great departure from his previous films, trading the bold and over the top farce of Sitcom and the brash melodrama of Criminal Lovers for something much more restrained. As a result, this is a mature film about mature characters, shot in a low-key style that is beautiful, though unobtrusive; with Ozon’s camera finding a sense of poetry and evocation in even the most mundane of objects to help further express the sense of grief and remembrance so central to the spirit of our main protagonist. To help convey this, the filmmaker instils his work with a lethargic mood, drawing on the silences of scenes and the physical and emotional distances between his characters to create something that is much more internal and subjective than the ensemble films that he is best known for (Sitcom, Water Drops On Burning Rocks, 8 Women, etc).
It’s almost a cliché to reference Bergman when talking of films that focus almost solely on the existential matters at the heart of their characters, but I suppose it could be relevant here; the film also reminded me, in tone, of Woody Allen’s Bergman-esque drama Interiors, or perhaps even Another Woman, with the film often confining itself to cramped and quiet locations in which characters meet for sex and lengthy semi-philosophical discussion. It’s certainly not a film for the Friday night matinee crowd, but I’d imagine that goes without saying; with the story focusing on middle-aged characters and themes like grief, regret, loss and mental illness. However, the film manages to transcend the chamber-piece trappings of the Bergman style of drama by also giving us an element of mystery. It would be wrong to reveal too much about this central concept in something as ultimately superficial as a product review, although it’s safe to say that the film hinges around a question of bereavement and the way in which this bereavement, or loss, is viewed by our central character in relation to those around her.
In this respect the film is similar to George Sluizer’s original version of The Vanishing, in the respect that both of these films pivot around a mysterious disappearance, which leaves the absentee’s lover desperately searching for some kind of closure. Unlike The Vanishing however, Under the Sand relegates the more obvious thriller elements to the background in order to more closely analyse the effect of the disappearance and possible death on his lover and her different methods of coming to terms with it. Ozon, as evident from films like Water Drops On Burning Rocks and Swimming Pool, has a strong grasp on his actors, and here draws some beautifully rendered performances from his highly esteemed cast. As some of the other comments have already noted, the central performance from Charlotte Rampling is an absolute revelation, as she creates a character that remains elusive throughout, but at the same time, is completely sympathetic. A much understated drama.
Rating: 4 / 5
…for persuading Charlotte Rampling to take this role and for effectively re-inventing her film career.
It’s a truly magnificent performance, yet I’m amazed that it took a 30-something hip, gay French director to unearth one of the UK’s hidden treasures. More beautiful in her late 50s than in her 20s, Rampling’s career took a whole new direction after this film, and for that I would like to shake Monsieur Ozon by the hand.
Her performance is beautiful, clever and yes, glacial, but with true depth of feeling. Had this been a Hollywood or even a British film, I suspect an Oscar nomination might have been in order.
On a general note, it’s very disappointing that it took a director and an industry from across the Channel to truly understand and bring out the very best in a British actress of the highest calibre. Perhaps because the French don’t consider actresses’ careers (or beauty) to be effectively over once they pass 50.
This is a brilliant film, although if you want to see Rampling looking just as wonderful but having far more fun, watch Summer Things (a very clever performance and she looks truly stunning). Or for Rampling and Ozon re-united and in far more light-hearted mode, Swimming Pool is a must.
Rating: 4 / 5