[rating=10.00]
Portrait of A Lady On Fire is the kind of film that reminds us what it is we love about film. It is all at once staggering and intimate, quiet and bold. Its magnificence can hardly be overstated and to see it for yourself is to be awash in revelation. “Stunning” does it no justice. It hits the soul like an exquisitely gorgeous punch straight to the jaw, delivering one of the clearest knockouts in recent movie history.
Writer/director Céline Sciamma has crafted a love story of immense, transcendent power. Utterly timeless in its quality, Portrait of A Lady On Fire is a raw, unflinching reflection of the world through the feminine gaze. Never mind the arbitrary boundaries of language, this is a film which resonates no matter who you are or what you speak.
Beyond beautiful, beyond astounding, Portrait of A Lady On Fire is also important. It is a film made by and starring women, in a time when the feminine voice in cinema is so desperately in need of it. Sciamma captures the feminine perspective like lightning in a bottle, unleashing a perspective and point of view that feels so vital to the current moment. It is a story of the depths of love and the powers of passion, exploring how even the most fleeting of moments can ripple through the course of one’s life.
The film follows the young painter, Marianne (Noémie Merlant), hired by a countess (Valeria Goline) to paint an engagement portrait of her daughter, Héloïse (Adèle Haenel). Héloïse is opposed to the idea of marriage and has gone to lengths to sabotage her mother’s attempts at sealing the deal with a painting. As such, Marianne is hired as a companion to Héloïse, and is charged with completing the portrait in secret. Over the course of their time together, however, the painter and the subject forge a passionate bond that changes both women forever.
There’s no one moment that can be pointed to that speaks to the depth of Portrait of A Lady On Fire’s depth. It is a cumulative experience that happens so slowly that you barely even recognize that it’s happening. It is a slow rising tide that creeps up ever closer until it threatens to wash you out completely. Sciamma brilliantly builds the accumulation into the story, giving us no respite from her magnificent exploration.
Merlant and Haenel are incendiary as Marianne and Héloïse. Theirs is a game of subtle tug of war, portraying an affair that cannot be contained anymore than it could be planned. They are victims each of love’s unbiased designs, and neither can but help to be overcome by the rising tide. Together, the actresses engage in the most delicate of dances, the effect of which is emotionally devastating.
Throughout it all, Sciamma treats her subject as an artist. Every moment, every image, every frame is impeccably designed, taking on the quality of classical painting. Her subject, of course, is neither woman by themselves, but, rather, femininity as a whole. Portrait of A Lady On Fire is nothing if not an ode to an exploration of female presence and the feminine eye. This is world seen exclusively through the prism of femininity, where quiet moments are filled with the spark of passion and the pangs of longing.
There are not enough superlatives that can be bestowed upon the film. It is a work that commands immediately respect and demands careful attention. Sciamma has created a work of art whose presence alone is enough to reshape the cinematic landscape. A work of immense achievement, Portrait of A Lady On Fire is, quite easily, one of the greatest cinematic works to come along in years.
Portrait of A Lady On Fire is now playing in select cities, with expansion following in the coming weeks.
One Response
“Portrait of A Lady On Fire is nothing if not an ode to an exploration of female presence and the feminine eye.”
It’s a lesbian soft porn chick flick. There, fixed it for you.