Rust and Bone
Directed by Jacques Audiard
Sony Pictures Classics
Rust and Bone is a refreshing take on a traditional romance. Based on a book by Canadian author Craig Davidson, this French-Belgian film directed by Jacques Audiard is both passionate and powerful.
The film tells the story of Ali (Matthias Shoenaerts), an out of work ex-boxer, who moves to southern France with his five-year-old son to live with his working class sister. Struggling to make a living, Ali finds a job as a bouncer at a nightclub where he runs into Stéphanie (Marion Cotillard), when she gets into a fight.
Stéphanie, a killer whale trainer at a marine tourist park, soon finds herself the victim of a freak accident during a show when the stage collapses. The accident leaves her a double amputee, taking the lower half of both her legs.
Cotillard’s shining moment is when her character wakes up in the hospital after the accident, and realizing that she has lost her legs, and with them her means and will to live. The acting brings a level of realism and believability to the film and the CGI used to remove Stéphanie’s legs is nothing short of perfect.
Trying to deal with her new situation, Stéphanie turns to Ali. The two seem to work well together, Stéphanie is able to ignore Ali’s often brutish side, and in return Ali is honest but not judgmental.
The film moves at a slower pace as the two characters struggle through their hardships and their relationship. Ali joins illegal kick-boxing matches to get back to doing what he loves, but in doing so his relationship with his son and sister falter.
The cinematography and editing in the film are stunning. In the most pivotal scenes, slow motion, close-ups and sound editing are used to great advantage. During Stéphanie’s accident and when Ali is boxing, the editing adds wonderful suspense and brings beauty to something otherwise painful.
With strong performances by Cotillard and Shoenaerts, Rust and Bone sets out on an emotional and captivating journey, expertly put together by Audiard.
