I've Loved You So Long - Philippe Claudel

Kristin Scott Thomas was serious Oscar bait for her performance in last year’s very famous French flick, I’ve Loved You So Long (Il y a longtemps que je t'aime). And I come to concur - she proved handsomely deserving! The movie marked Philippe Claudel’s debut with direction, after he was widely applauded for his famous French novel Les Âmes grises (Grey Souls). While I’m bashfully ignorant of his writing, there's a thing  that can be stated without doubt – if there’s one filmmaker in the bygone year with oodles of talent and promise, Claudel is the man. Claudel who constantly explores the male universe in his novels made this in an attempt to change his axis. I’ve loved you So Long was a making to show the real face of a woman - sure it does that, and how.

Juliette (Scott Thomas) is out from prison after 15 years, when she is received by her younger sister Lea (Elsa Zylberstein) who opens her home and heart out to her. Restrained and distant, Juliette moves in with her sister who lives with her husband Luc, their two adopted daughters and Luc’s mute father. Juliette is what a willful convict can be. As an unbeliever of the world, prison could’ve been her paradise. She’s deadpan detached and entirely honest in admitting her offense - Juliette killed her son aged six, and she’s served her sentence for this seemingly heinous  crime. Now naturally they’re all a bit afraid of her, but only for the first half of the film.

It’s obvious that Juliette is incapable of killing her child for no good reason, especially when you see a face full of familial warmth and sisterly longing behind all that cigarette smoke she’s very austerely puffing out. So we wait, without ever being tired to know her reason. In the interim is when the rest of the story divulges, the story of the two estranged sisters. The sisters who loved so long.

The cause of their lengthy rift is revealed to us - Lea’s parents disowned Juliette after she committed her crime and chose never to mention their elder daughter again. Lea spent years as their only daughter, until fifteen years later when her sister was released. Reuniting with her sister, after those many years, Lea becomes the catalyst-sister who puts her soul into rebuilding their relationship. She drizzles with an unconditional supply of tender love and sisterly concern, without ever pushing to know the rationale behind her sister’s formidable crime. And little by little Juliette becomes human again.

So far, so good. Their emotional bonding then moves on to the climax – There’s an arousing build up in the last scene, where the mystery is revealed. And the unknown, when disclosed, leaves you feeling a wee bit let down. This pronounces the only lacking element of the film; Many would think Claudel could have/should have put into practice a bit of his writer know-hows to make sure his climax is a little more eye-popping. And yet, on the other hand, the director’s focus may never have been on the suspense, perhaps.

What he’s probably prompting for us to witness are the sublime nuances: the day after day softening of an unsentimental soul; the quiet renewal  of a ruptured relationship; the  first specks of sunshine in an overcast heart. (Same reason the film's title goes "I've loved you So Long", rather than "The Big Reason I Killed My Son", or anything to that effect?) Having said that, Claudel proves to be an ideal director in making the big emotions create the larger impact.  He accentuates his ability by using the magic trick of very few words and a grand performer, and proves that mysteries are not necessarily earth-shattering. If you’re looking out for the real stumpers, watch out for Juliette’s nameless indifference, her disguised suffering, her enigmatic affection.

This is undeniably Kristin Scott’s film. Best known for her work in English-language movies like “Random Hearts” and “The English Patient,” she was seen earlier this year in the outstanding French thriller Tell No One, where she plays a lesbian.  But Juliette in I’ve Loved You So Long is Scott's tour-de-force. Her stride in the film (sans make up) was a definitive direction towards conquering the Gold Man - But the Academy, true to its capricious nature gave her its cold-shoulder. While movies like The Reader are comfortably seated in the Oscar bench, I’ve Loved You So Long has to fight its way to a multiplex audience.

Although a knock out blockbuster in France, this movie needs a dynamic audience that accepts wholeheartedly a suspense film with closing moments that don’t really make you pant for your breath. Watch this if you can go beyond and against your prevailing mood to accept its quiet, mature-adult ending. But watch this anyway for Scott Thomas; be assured you will love her for long.

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