"The Girl on the Train" **** (out of ****) As my readers should know I live in Chicago and every year around this time kicks off the International Chicago Film Festival. Yesterday was the opening night ceremony and today the first day of the festival. I eagerly went to see Andre Techine's latest work "The Girl on the Train" (2009).
I have not reviewed a film on here by the great French filmmaker but I have mentioned his name from time to time. Techine is a homosexual filmmaker who has sometimes explored issues relating to the gay & lesbian community. In honesty I have never seen those movies but they include "Wild Reeds" (1994), which was a breakout hit for him and the more recent "The Witnesses" (2008). The films I have seen by the filmmaker are his gripping intense family studies where he explores human nature. My favorite of his films has remained the first film I saw by him, "My Favorite Season" (1996). I named the film as one of the ten best films of the 1990s on my list and called it one of the best films of 1996. My second favorite would be his WW2 romance/thriller "Strayed" (2004) which I called one of the best films of its respected year. Techine's latest is one of his great works coming in third.
"The Girl on The Train" is a thriller made in a Claude Chabrol style which is quite fitting since one of Techine's co-writers is Odile Barski who wrote Chabrol's "The Color of Lies" (1999), which I have reviewed, as well as Chabrol's "The Comedy of Power" (2006) and his newest film, "Bellamy" (2009), which I shall also be seeing at the film festival. And as a thriller it is quite successful but as is typical for Techine the film becomes much darker and begins to make a commentary on human behavior. What leads us to do the things we do? More specifically, why do we lie? What impulse in human behavior leads us to it?
The main character in Techine's glorious masterpiece is Jeanne (Emilie Dequenne) a young woman who still lives with her mother, Louise (Catherine Deneuve). Jeanne has to get a summer job instead of taking a vacation to Italy this year. Her mother offers to help her re-write her resume, which she finds slightly disappointing. However these two women seem to be very close to one another. But from the first mention of Jeanne's resume, and Louise's insistence on helping, we see the seeds of little white lies forming. We never know what exactly Louise writes in that resume but it lands Jeanne a job interview at a law firm as a secretary for Samuel Bleistein (Michel Blanc), who happens to be an old friend of Louise. Bleistein was an old army buddy of Louise's husband and an admirer of her.
Bleistein is a Jewish lawyer who has gained a reputation for defending Jewish rights in what is presented as an Anti-Semitic France, where we are told Anti-Semitic beatings are on the rise since the past year.
To be honest this Jewish sub-plot seemed unnecessary to me. I'm not quite sure what it adds to the story. I think the film would have worked fine without it. I'm not sure Techine really knows what to do with it or how to handle it. The film's best moments are the ones which don't deal with it.
Now there are other events circulating with these characters. Young Jeanne has fallen in love with Franck (Nicolas Duvauchelle). A college wrestler who says one day he will be a champ. Perhaps even make it to the Olympics. Louise is a little worried about these two about does not interfere. When Franck finds out Jeanne is strapped for cash, Jeanne lies about why that is, he gets them a job as caretakers, which pays very well, because of certain activities which go on.
Bliestein has a son, Alex (Mathieu Demy) who is married to Judith (Ronit Elkabetz, known to those who saw "A Band's Visit" (2008). They have a son, Nathan (Jeremy Quaegebeur) who is turning 13 and about to have his bar mitzvah. Alex and Judith are on shaking ground. Their marriage seems to be in trouble.
While some of these stories don't seem to have any connection these characters will impact each others' lives. In small ways and big.
Catherine Deneuve played a mother whose child is presented in danger in another Techine film, "The Scene of the Crime" (1987). That film was somewhat disappointing. I felt it didn't explore enough of the dramatic possibilities of what was a rather ludicrous plot. Deneuve also played a grieving mother in the recent "Apres Lui" (2007), which was finally released on DVD in America this year. There she fares much better. Here in "The Girl on the Train" the great actress is not at her best. There doesn't seem to be much for her to do. When the story requires greater acting on her part, Deneuve delivers the goods. But much of the film requires her to be a little more than background scenery unfortunately. This however doesn't lessen the picture. Deneuve's mother character is not our main focus. Jeanne is.
Emile Dequenne does a very good job in the lead, She has a certain blend of innocence to her which makes her very likable at the beginning of the film and a dark side to her at the end. Strangely even with the plot twist I still found her largely likable. Her character may be deceitful but is not evil. Just young and confused.
"The Girl on the Train" raises a lot of questions but I don't think it answers many of them. And that is perfectly alright. Will that bother some viewers? Maybe. But I hope not enough to dislike the film. Viewers are still left wondering what will happen to Jeanne. We get some idea where she learned her traits from, and I hope the answer is enough for viewers. The Jewish aspect of the film I felt was left unresolved. But I wasn't bothered by it.
If you live in Chicago the film will have more showings. Check the festival's website for details. Because the film was directed by Andre Techine and starring Catherine Deneuve I'm sure it will find distribution in America. As it stands now, "The Girl on the Train" is a masterpiece. One of Techine's very best films and as far as I'm concerned one of the year's best films. Please make an effort to see this wonderful film.
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