The Truth (2019)
After winning the Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival last year for his work directing Shoplifters all eyes were on Japenese filmmaker Hirokazu Kore-eda and what he would do next. Little did anyone including myself suspect his next movie would only come 1 year later in the form of a French drama titled The Truth. Fabienne (Catherine Deneuve) is an acclaimed French actress who feels like she is nearing the end of her career, the eyes that were once all on her have moved on to younger stars leaving her feeling bitter and alone. In the middle of shooting her next movie, Fabienne is getting ready to launch an autobiography which prompts her daughter Lumir (Juliette Binoche) to come from New York to visit her alongside her husband Hank (Ethan Hawke) and their daughter Charlotte (Clémentine Grenier). Lumir immediately has issues with the book as Fabienne has erased all their conflict from when Lumir was growing up leading to their troubled relationship and over the course of their stay, Lumir finally tries to breakthrough to Fabienne and find closure in their relationship.
Obviously going into this film I was excited, I was a pretty big fan of Shoplifters and to see Hirokazu Kore-eda try something completely new and diverse when compared to his filmography definitely had me interested and if there is one thing that really works in this movie it is the key elements Hirokazu Kore-eda tends to focus on in his films. Kore-eda is so good at exploring family dynamics and creating really well rounded and natural feeling characters, both of which reign true in this film. The relationship between Fabienne and Lumir is deep and complex, they both have such a destain for each other yet neither would change a thing. They have so much peace in who they are, yet still feel like they are at war as they go back and forth throughout the film. They also still have a deep love for each other and I loved seeing their relationship grow and develop as past events are brought into question and they unload deep emotions that have weighed on them for years. Yet the love is still absolutely there between all these characters, they still are a family and that dynamic is one that is hard to authentically pull off but clearly time and time again Kore-eda shows that he has it down to a near science.
It also helps that the acting behind these characters are really solid, in fact, I would probably say the acting is the best part of the movie. Juliette Binoche is able to bring such a deeply rooted anger in her whenever she is either talking to her mother or in the direct aftermath of a conversation with her. You can feel the layers and layers of pain and torment she has gone through feeling abandoned and unloved by her mom for most of her life and her performance is able to capture that feeling without the need of any real big over the top scene that probably would have felt out of place considering the slower more mundane tone this movie takes on. Sadly for Binoche, it is Catherine Deneuve who steals the show here, she is so conniving and manipulating but also still clearly has some level of love and humanity behind her. Whether you agree with her priorities or not the film is clear that this bitterness was needed for her to get where she is and that the world around her is to blame. Very much so like how her daughter felt pushed away and abandoned by her, Fabienne feels the same way about the industry that once rewarded her and loved her. She gave everything (including her relationship to her daughter) to this industry and now she is not ready to accept that the industry will move on so easily and nonchalant. This is a really wonderful character and Deneuve brings such a life to it. Considering he has been heavily shown in the marketing of the film I will also say Ethan Hawke is fine in the movie, his character definitely sticks to the sidelines with only a few really notable scenes scattered throughout. Still, though a supporting Ethan Hawke on the sidelines is better than no Ethan Hawke so overall his involvement is positive.
It also helps that the acting behind these characters are really solid, in fact, I would probably say the acting is the best part of the movie. Juliette Binoche is able to bring such a deeply rooted anger in her whenever she is either talking to her mother or in the direct aftermath of a conversation with her. You can feel the layers and layers of pain and torment she has gone through feeling abandoned and unloved by her mom for most of her life and her performance is able to capture that feeling without the need of any real big over the top scene that probably would have felt out of place considering the slower more mundane tone this movie takes on. Sadly for Binoche, it is Catherine Deneuve who steals the show here, she is so conniving and manipulating but also still clearly has some level of love and humanity behind her. Whether you agree with her priorities or not the film is clear that this bitterness was needed for her to get where she is and that the world around her is to blame. Very much so like how her daughter felt pushed away and abandoned by her, Fabienne feels the same way about the industry that once rewarded her and loved her. She gave everything (including her relationship to her daughter) to this industry and now she is not ready to accept that the industry will move on so easily and nonchalant. This is a really wonderful character and Deneuve brings such a life to it. Considering he has been heavily shown in the marketing of the film I will also say Ethan Hawke is fine in the movie, his character definitely sticks to the sidelines with only a few really notable scenes scattered throughout. Still, though a supporting Ethan Hawke on the sidelines is better than no Ethan Hawke so overall his involvement is positive.
With all that being said it seems like this movie has all the elements for greatness and it does flirt with being a truly great movie often, but sadly it never quite reaches those heights. The main reason this movie never reaches its full potential is simply that the plot is lacking. Sure you have these interesting characters and dynamics between them but past that it never feels like this film really does anything with them or gets going. I kept waiting for something in the plot to kick up making our exploration of these characters deeper and more interesting but it never does. The film hovers in this dry unnoticeable plot that never really gives the audience a solid hook to catch onto sucking us into the plot and this family. If I am being honest I think once this movie releases wide in December most audiences will feel bored by the film simply cause it very rarely gives the audience anything to chew on. It all stays decently basic and shallow not really finding any new or overly interesting thesis from the plot itself.
Overall The Truth is far from a bad movie, like I said it has some great acting and if you do the work looking into these characters and finding the interesting points in them then you will see there is something to this movie. As I mentioned it constantly dances with greatness but sadly is never able to find the right groove to push it over that mountain. I would say if you are a fan of Kore-eda's earlier works then I would recommend checking this film out as despite it being something very new for his filmography it does maintain plenty of the positives and key elements of his last few films which mixed with the performances is worth the viewing. Sadly past that I really wouldn't walk into the film with too high of expectations, this is far from the next Shoplifters which really is the truth.
Overall The Truth is far from a bad movie, like I said it has some great acting and if you do the work looking into these characters and finding the interesting points in them then you will see there is something to this movie. As I mentioned it constantly dances with greatness but sadly is never able to find the right groove to push it over that mountain. I would say if you are a fan of Kore-eda's earlier works then I would recommend checking this film out as despite it being something very new for his filmography it does maintain plenty of the positives and key elements of his last few films which mixed with the performances is worth the viewing. Sadly past that I really wouldn't walk into the film with too high of expectations, this is far from the next Shoplifters which really is the truth.