MOVIE REVIEW — Portrait of a Lady on Fire
A Film as Beautiful as the Paintings Within — ★★★★★
This was the final film I saw at the 28th Annual Philadelphia Film Festival, and whew boy, what a way to close out with a bang. Going into this showing, I went in almost as blind as I did for the Parasite showing (Parasite Review), this time only knowing the very basic plot. Having gone in blind for both of these films, I can officially say that doing so made for such thrilling, invigorating experiences. As with the rest of my reviews coming out of PFF28, these introductions are very much informal for the sake of getting across how genuinely excited I was for each of these showings before getting into the meat. Without anymore stalling, this is my review for Portrait of a Lady on Fire.
The very stripped down plot of Portrait of a Lady on Fire sees the films set in 1770, with the young daughter of a French countess,
Héloïse (Adèle Haenel), developing a strong infatuation towards the female artist, Marianne (Noémie Merlant), commissioned to paint her wedding portrait. Being totally transparent, the only reason I attended this showing was because I wanted to go see another movie at the festival and this had been a film I heard extremely positive buzz about coming out of Cannes earlier this year. The plot sounded… fine, and I had no prior knowledge of director Céline Sciamma (Tomboy, Girlhood), so to say this is unbiased is fair. One thing to note is that as the credits began to roll, I tried to think about what I had just seen and what I could possibly compare it to. The only film that came to mind was Call Me By Your Name, but even that is significantly different in setting, tone, and style, though fans of that film will most likely find enjoyment here as well.
Genuinely, I don’t know if a review can do justice to how truly beautiful this film is. From the opening shots until the end of the credits, this is cinema at its finest. While Parasite is going to take up A LOT of the votes for best foreign film (and frankly, best film) of the year for many, Portrait of a Lady on Fire deserves to be right there at the top of the list come the end of December. While my list still brews in my brain over the next few months, this movie is absolutely a Top Five of the year (as of now).
I can sing praise for the absolutely breathtaking cinematography all day long. From the opening credits of young art students doing broad strokes in their class taught by Marianne before revealing the painting of hers, the namesake of the film, to every seen in the estate, to the gorgeous scenes on the beach below, every single shot in the film is crafted so beautifully that if feels as if you have entered a world with every second made up of paintings come to life. That may sound ridiculously hyperbolic, but it is also ridiculously true. Music in films is something normally tied to my thoughts on cinematography in these reviews, and that is not a trend I plan on kicking anytime soon. The first hour or so of this film contains only one bit of music, which comes in the form of Marianne playing a piece for Héloïse on the piano. With the emphasis placed on her lack of musical knowledge/experience throughout, I figured that at some point music would come in more prominently… boy did it come in hard. That bonfire sequence? Enough said. While it does not have the best score of the year (mainly because it doesn’t have one), this might be the best use of music in a film in 2019. The film deprives you of the beautiful sounds of music for what feels like forever, before bombarding you with an operatic-like choir performance (sidenote: I had goosebumps this entire scene), and then later with a bombastic orchestra performance in the film’s closing moments, playing the song that Marianne attempted to perform earlier.
I haven’t even mentioned the performances… Adèle Haenel and Noémie Merlant are queens, and are perfect in the roles of Héloïse and Marianne respectively. Admittedly, I am not well-versed in French cinema, so I can’t say I am familiar with either of the lead actresses in this film, but what I can say is that they deserve enormous admiration for their work here. From the first moments in each other’s presence in the cliffs, the spark can be felt not through any dialogue, but through their eyes and how the film is shot. It really is one of the most beautiful aspects of the film, the believability of their love for each other, with the two girls feeling downright realistic with their portrayals of the awkward pitfalls of young romance. That is not to say the dialogue and/or writing is a negative here, because it is very much a high point in the film. Witty banter, genuinely hilarious bits of comedy, endearing character moments, and one of the best clapbacks of the year:
I didn’t know you were an art critic.
I didn’t know you were a painter.
One of the most interesting aspects of this film is the ending. Without actually spoiling it for anyone who has yet to see the movie, it has three endings. Putting it more realistically, the film has three scenes that could have been the perfect ending, but it chooses the final of the three and leaves the other two as segue points into the finale. In most films, this would probably be seen as a negative by most critics, but for some reason, it works here. The first ending caught me. The screen went black and I thought it was over. Everything that had been building up throughout the film felt like THIS was meant to be the final shot, until it wasn’t. The second ending had much less of that shock factor that the first had, leaning more into the actual plot of the film in its dealing with painting, that is until it wasn’t the ending… again. The third and final ending, is something to behold with a truly moving performance from Adèle Haenel in the final moments of the movie. I really really REALLY want to stay away from actually spoiling or discussing these endings as they should all be experienced freshly as you watch the film, but good God, this film’s final 20 minutes are genuinely perfect (as are the other two hours of the runtime).
Portrait of a Lady on Fire is a beautiful work of art, and one that will live on for years in the minds of those lucky enough to experience its brilliance. It is engaging, moving, and terribly heartbreaking. It is one of the best films of the year. If you have any hesitation in regards to watching this because maybe it sounds boring or maybe you are not into watching foreign films, say screw it and watch this. It is a film that deserves to be seen, shared, and discussed by the many, hopefully keeping a life long after its release.
Be sure to go check out Portrait of a Lady on Fire if/when it releases around you, with it being scheduled for release on December 6, 2019.
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If you are interested, I also got to see Knives Out at the Philadelphia Film Festival and wrote up an official review which you can check out here:
