In the opening scene we see a blurred shot of the Statue of Liberty in New York Harbor. Blurred because hope too can be blurred. It is 1921 and Ewa Cybulski (Marion Cotillard) and her sister, Magda (Angela Safaryan), arrive at Ellis Island to enter the United States. They come from Katowice in southwest Poland.
Waiting in line, they excitedly discuss starting a new life. They want to get married to nice men and have lots of children. To get started, they are expecting to meet up with their aunt and uncle who live in New York City and who will provide a base for them to get established. But this happy plan almost immediately goes awry. Magda has a hacking cough. A Public Health doctor pulls her out of the line and orders her to be quarantined in Ellis Island's infirmary for six months where she cannot have visitors.
Because Ewa (pronounced Eva) was a nurse to an English family, she knows English. When she reaches the Ellis Island Customs Officer he informs her the address she has for her aunt and uncle is fake and that there is in fact no such address. The aunt and uncle never show. He accuses Ewa of lewd behavior and tells her women of low morals are not allowed to enter the United States. She is to be deported and must stand in a line with other deportees. She is extremely upset. First her beloved sister is taken away from her. Then she is going to be deported because she has no one to stand up for her. She is in despair. And she is also extremely vulnerable. These facts set the tone and the direction of the entire movie.
Enter Bruno Weiss (Joaquin Phoenix). He approaches Ewa in the line of detainees and offers to give her room and board and a job. Because her aunt and uncle didn't show up and she has no way to contact them―and also because she's completely broke―she feels she has no choice. But she discovers very quickly the boarding house is a whore house and the job is to display her body in front of male patrons in a small burlesque theater in Lower Manhattan. Later she is expected to sleep with them. Bruno is an expert manipulator of people who can easily ferret out their psychological weaknesses and use them to his own advantage. This is the way he keeps his girls (his "doves") in line.
With seemingly no other choice Ewa is pulled into the life that Bruno has defined for her. As the ultimate bait Bruno tells Ewa that with the right amount of money he can get Magda off Ellis Island. Although she is thoroughly disgusted by making a living this way (she's a devout Roman Catholic), because of her circumstances she is forced to become a prostitute. Bruno uses guile and psychological manipulation to keep things in line. But he does not beat the women. And also he does not sexually abuse them, but this was left a little murky.
Bruno is not a simple, one-dimensional villain. Bits and pieces of his life are revealed. He caustically relates to Ewa a short description of himself as a young boy dancing in the streets of Manhattan for money with a tin cup strapped to his leg so that people can conveniently toss coins into it. He remarks, "What we won't do to survive." He too started off in life dirt-poor. The world is hard. And the world is cruel. Unless you have some kind of safety net, either through family or through society, you can easily slide down the slippery slope and lose your humanity. This is true whether it's 20th century bc Babylon or 20th century ad New York City. It's part and parcel of the human condition.
Bruno develops a soft spot for Ewa. While Ewa is saying her confession to a priest, Bruno has entered the church and is listening in. He knows what he's done to her but hearing it from her lips to a stranger makes it even worse. The aunt is found and gives Ewa money to pay for Magda's freedom, which is arranged through Bruno's contacts on Ellis Island. He gives Ewa one-way tickets for her and Magda to go to California to start a new life. He confesses he's the one who purposefully set her up so she'd fall into his clutches. He tells her because of what he's done to her he is nothing. She replies softly, "No, you are not nothing." In her way Ewa loves Bruno and forgives him for what he's done to her.
One reason I give this movie an 8 rather than a 10 is what I consider one major flaw, which is the character of Orlando (Jeremy Renner), a magician whose real name is Emil and who is Bruno's cousin. Renner does a good job acting the part, but Orlando/Emil's role is chiefly as Bruno's nemesis rather than an actual flesh-and-blood person in his own right. He and Bruno have had previous run-ins and it's clear from other comments that Orlando/Emil is a very argumentative character. He's also embarrassed Bruno before and caused him to lose the first girl he truly loved. In summary Orlando/Emil seems more driven to free Ewa from Bruno's grip because he wants to thwart Bruno than from any deep feelings he has for her. They fight and Bruno kills him with a knife.
The settings and costumes are outstanding and convincingly capture 1921 Lower Manhattan. Joaquin Phoenix and Marion Cotillard and the other cast actors are very good.
Although Ewa and Magda can start a new life in California, the ending leaves murky Bruno's ultimate fate. This is another reason I give the movie an 8 rather than a 10. But I highly recommend this movie. It's far better than the habitual slop Hollywood spews out.
Waiting in line, they excitedly discuss starting a new life. They want to get married to nice men and have lots of children. To get started, they are expecting to meet up with their aunt and uncle who live in New York City and who will provide a base for them to get established. But this happy plan almost immediately goes awry. Magda has a hacking cough. A Public Health doctor pulls her out of the line and orders her to be quarantined in Ellis Island's infirmary for six months where she cannot have visitors.
Because Ewa (pronounced Eva) was a nurse to an English family, she knows English. When she reaches the Ellis Island Customs Officer he informs her the address she has for her aunt and uncle is fake and that there is in fact no such address. The aunt and uncle never show. He accuses Ewa of lewd behavior and tells her women of low morals are not allowed to enter the United States. She is to be deported and must stand in a line with other deportees. She is extremely upset. First her beloved sister is taken away from her. Then she is going to be deported because she has no one to stand up for her. She is in despair. And she is also extremely vulnerable. These facts set the tone and the direction of the entire movie.
Enter Bruno Weiss (Joaquin Phoenix). He approaches Ewa in the line of detainees and offers to give her room and board and a job. Because her aunt and uncle didn't show up and she has no way to contact them―and also because she's completely broke―she feels she has no choice. But she discovers very quickly the boarding house is a whore house and the job is to display her body in front of male patrons in a small burlesque theater in Lower Manhattan. Later she is expected to sleep with them. Bruno is an expert manipulator of people who can easily ferret out their psychological weaknesses and use them to his own advantage. This is the way he keeps his girls (his "doves") in line.
With seemingly no other choice Ewa is pulled into the life that Bruno has defined for her. As the ultimate bait Bruno tells Ewa that with the right amount of money he can get Magda off Ellis Island. Although she is thoroughly disgusted by making a living this way (she's a devout Roman Catholic), because of her circumstances she is forced to become a prostitute. Bruno uses guile and psychological manipulation to keep things in line. But he does not beat the women. And also he does not sexually abuse them, but this was left a little murky.
Bruno is not a simple, one-dimensional villain. Bits and pieces of his life are revealed. He caustically relates to Ewa a short description of himself as a young boy dancing in the streets of Manhattan for money with a tin cup strapped to his leg so that people can conveniently toss coins into it. He remarks, "What we won't do to survive." He too started off in life dirt-poor. The world is hard. And the world is cruel. Unless you have some kind of safety net, either through family or through society, you can easily slide down the slippery slope and lose your humanity. This is true whether it's 20th century bc Babylon or 20th century ad New York City. It's part and parcel of the human condition.
Bruno develops a soft spot for Ewa. While Ewa is saying her confession to a priest, Bruno has entered the church and is listening in. He knows what he's done to her but hearing it from her lips to a stranger makes it even worse. The aunt is found and gives Ewa money to pay for Magda's freedom, which is arranged through Bruno's contacts on Ellis Island. He gives Ewa one-way tickets for her and Magda to go to California to start a new life. He confesses he's the one who purposefully set her up so she'd fall into his clutches. He tells her because of what he's done to her he is nothing. She replies softly, "No, you are not nothing." In her way Ewa loves Bruno and forgives him for what he's done to her.
One reason I give this movie an 8 rather than a 10 is what I consider one major flaw, which is the character of Orlando (Jeremy Renner), a magician whose real name is Emil and who is Bruno's cousin. Renner does a good job acting the part, but Orlando/Emil's role is chiefly as Bruno's nemesis rather than an actual flesh-and-blood person in his own right. He and Bruno have had previous run-ins and it's clear from other comments that Orlando/Emil is a very argumentative character. He's also embarrassed Bruno before and caused him to lose the first girl he truly loved. In summary Orlando/Emil seems more driven to free Ewa from Bruno's grip because he wants to thwart Bruno than from any deep feelings he has for her. They fight and Bruno kills him with a knife.
The settings and costumes are outstanding and convincingly capture 1921 Lower Manhattan. Joaquin Phoenix and Marion Cotillard and the other cast actors are very good.
Although Ewa and Magda can start a new life in California, the ending leaves murky Bruno's ultimate fate. This is another reason I give the movie an 8 rather than a 10. But I highly recommend this movie. It's far better than the habitual slop Hollywood spews out.