Portrait of a Lady on Fire
Céline Sciamma’s Portrait of a Lady on Fire has given numerous hungry moviegoers exactly what they crave, but left this arthouse-loving reviewer unexpectedly bored and empty.
The late 18th century love affair between covert painter Marianne (Noémie Merlant) and her subject, the reluctant bride-to-be Héloïse (Adèle Haenel), features strong performances and occasional big emotions, but other than some beguiling imagery and the intriguing, near-complete absence of men, it's a fairly standard, stuffy costume drama.
Set on an inherently gorgeous French island, the women’s journey to mutual passion is a slow, believable, er, burn. Yet the film’s colorful but flat imagery, minimal notable camera movements or creative edits/transitions, and complete lack of music (beyond a few diegetic instances) leaves the central relationship painfully unadorned.
With so little happening on a filmmaking or narrative level, viewers are forced to endure long, wordless stretches and extended stares between the two leads that rarely deliver the potent longing and desire for which Sciamma clearly strives.
Bereft of something tangible to latch onto — including no sense for the consequences awaiting Marianne should she fail at her assignment — Portrait of a Lady on Fire soon devolves into a frustrating view. And beyond stunning spectral imagines of Heloise in all white, the film’s lack of artistry proves taxing as the drawn-out romance far outstays its welcome and cheapens the leads’ chemistry (at least when dialogue is involved) and individual work.
Sciamma also oddly punts the chance to have no men with speaking parts and preserve the island as a magical, Themyscira-like paradise where such offensive sounds are unable to be made or heard. One can argue that the ferryman (Clément Bouyssou) and his handful of words represent the jarring comings and goings of the oppressive world, but his silence would likely be even more dramatic and impactful.
Grade: C. Rated R. Now playing at Grail Moviehouse
(Photo: Neon)
