Rating: 4/5
Criterion Challenge 2022 | 19/52 | Directed by Claire Denis
Isabelle and Vincent have sex. She cannot orgasm but encourages Vincent to go ahead. Dismayed, Vincent questions if she could more easily orgasm with her previous partner. The question causes her to cry and push Vincent away. He apologizes but must still dress and leave Isabelle, promising to call over the weekend.
She passes a fish vendor. He espouses the way we cannot satisfy all our desires at once. We seek satisfaction in various ways, but it never works in totality.
After a weekend without calls, Isabelle visits Vincent, professing her love for him and asking for some attention. But Vincent is married and cannot call when he pleases.
When they go out, Vincent is terse with the server and mentions an opportunity with her ex-husband’s ex-lover to have her art displayed. He tells her there must be a man in Paris who can love her the way she deserves. He finds Isabelle charming. But his wife is extraordinary.
Isabelle has had enough of being a “backstreet lover” and declares her desire to find love. The film follows her journey as she deals with all the trials of dating in her 50s.
The film is casual and effortless as it moves from scene to scene. Denis is not afraid to let romance adorn moments — an optimism I’ve yet to experience in her movies prior.
For what romance we see, however, Isabelle is not easily charmed. She does not want to waste time on empty words. She wants naked vulnerability. People of any age don’t hand that out freely. But she is human, and she also wants physical intimacy. People seem equipped to dole that out, even when there’s someone at home.
When in doubt, she asks folks how they’re doing to see if it’s just her who isn’t doing so great. If they’re doing well, then maybe she will, too, someday.
The actor has trouble finding words, wishing Isabelle would feed them to him. But the heart doesn’t have a prewritten script. The ex is familiar but has all the same flaws that broke them apart. The fuckboi will always be at the ready to disappoint her again.
Does Juliette Binoche ever disappoint?
The episodic quality leaves the movie with little momentum, making it difficult to stay invested. We get vignettes more than arcs.
The film might not have anything grand to say about love. But it does give hope to a single gal like me that, even if I don’t find love today, it may still be out there.<blockquote>Stop getting yourself all in a stew. It serves no purpose whatsoever. Live what you have to live. Take care of yourself. Don’t fall into traps. That’s all I ask.</blockquote>