Rust and Bone

Jacques Audiard is the maker of the sensational, Oscar-nominated movie Un Prophète. Matthias Schoenaerts is the lead actor in the sensational, Oscar-nominated movie Bullhead. Together, they now have made De rouille et d'os. Is it sensational? Well, um, yes. Will it be nominated for an Oscar? Time will tell!

Like those other two movies, De rouille et d'os is about strong characters, fighting their way through life against all odds. One of those characters is played by Schoenaerts, the Flemish actor who is on the verge of his breakthrough in international cinema. At least, that's what everyone in Cannes was talking about. Next year's American remake of the Flemish blockbuster Loft might well be his ticket to Hollywood.

In De rouille et d'os, Schoenaerts basically plays the same sort of character as he did in Bullhead: lots of muscles, little brainpower. In this movie, he succeeds in embarrassing, hurting or insulting everyone he cares about: his child, his sister and his girlfriend. He seems incapable of showing the least bit of empathy. His rude and insensitive way of treating other people would almost be funny, if it weren't for the sometimes dramatic consequences.

The story is about the relationship between this emotionally handicapped man and a physically handicapped woman. Although they have almost opposite characters, they find each other in their mutual experience of being different from the rest. His lack of sympathy and understanding is almost an advantage for her. She lost her legs, but he doesn't ask her how she copes or if she wants a shoulder to cry on. No, he asks her if she wants to take a dive in the ocean with him. 'Do you realize what you're saying?', she replies. He answers by carrying her in his arms to the sea and letting her discover that she can swim by using only her arms.

Audiard knows how to let his two lead actors excel. Schoenaerts is completely believable as a primitive macho who means well but screws everything up nevertheless. And Marion Cotillard is cast perfectly as a strong-willed woman who refuses to be confined to a wheelchair. I was amazed by her physical appearance as an amputee - you'd swear that she had her legs cut off in order to be able to make this movie. The visual effects are awesome.

But apart from the acting achievements, Audiard also has some nice visual treats. Most of the time, the movie focuses on the actors, but now and then aesthetics take over. The scene with Cotillard in an orca show is an example of superb directing: the huge animals are filmed in such a way, that it becomes clear something terrible is about to happen. De rouille et d'os shows superior craftsmanship on all levels.

I watched this film at the Canes Film Festival, audience expectation was high the huge Palais auditorium completely filled. Jacques Audiard is my favourite director, as with Tahir Rahim in A Prophet and Roman Duris in The Beat that my heart skipped, Audiard managed to get an astounding performance from his male lead Schoenaerts, performed as a brutal man lacking the capability to show warmth or love to his young son and the women that cross his path, his performance as a bouncer come fist fighter for money is always believable though completely unsympathetic. You wish him to succeed though you find it hard to like him so often does his character disappoint, seemingly incapable of love and sensitivity, his straight forward requests for sex come out as comic rather than charming, but his open down-to-earth approach and honesty, often gets him what he desires. Meeting Cotillard he is met and challenged by a very strong woman, damaged she needs to find herself again, he could possibly help, at least initially physically rather than emotionally. As their characters interact throughout the film I was unsure as too who would change who, fascinating highly watchable characters struggle to prevail against bad luck and to pull themselves out of the mire of despair and poverty, my kind of film. Again a remarkable film by a master film maker, completely at ease with breaking the conventions of traditional romance.

Put in charge of his young son, Alain van Versch (Matthias Schoenaerts) leaves Belgium for Antibes to live with his sister and her husband as a family. He's a low-rent street fighter. Alain bonds with killer whale trainer Stéphanie (Marion Cotillard). It grows deeper after Stephanie suffers a horrible accident.

I don't find myself that involved in Alain's story. His story is pitiless and relentless. Marion Cotillard is much more compelling. The movie drags every time she's off the screen. I wish this is a movie concentrating on Stéphanie's story. I find Cotillard and her character utterly fascinating.

RUST and BONE immediately drew me in with its arresting cinematography, immediate realism, and so on. The plot is an interesting mix of qualities: compelling but unfocused, surprising but often dissatisfying. As patchy as it is, this story certainly takes you to some interesting places. Several reviewers have noted that we don't know enough about the characters to really empathize with them. I see what they mean, but I think the lack of information is intentional, and I'm not so sure that it would be better if we did know more--not because they're such terrible people, but because, you know, does it really matter in the end? The mere fact that reviewers--even those who give it only 1-5 stars--have found so much to analyze here and have interpreted RUST and BONE in so many different ways says something for the substance of this film.

Anyhoo, Ali and Stephanie are both quite real, and RUST and BONE is an interesting mass character study of people at their bests and worsts, who, though it's nothing dramatic, DO experience some change and transformation at the end, discovering what's most important to them. Stepanie's injury and Ali's love coupled with abuse and neglect of his son are vital ingredients, done with sober conviction.

Those with a low tolerance for raw violence and/or melancholy should probably skip RUST and BONE. Otherwise, it's an interesting change of pace that stays with you for awhile.

Apart from the great story the movie is telling (combining two stories, male and female and their complications), this has remarkable special effects. Of course it also had a good budget to play with (for European standards that is). If they do an US remake, you can bet they'll cut off some of the edges (and some of the erotic/nude content too).

But until then and if you speak french or don't mind reading subtitles, this movie has to suffice. And it is very well acted. It's about loss, hope, friendship, love and many more things. It is about life, things we take for granted (very well shown in several scenes), passion, but also about broken people and how they try to get back on their feet (no pun intended). A great drama that I can only recommend