Home Reviews Blog Links About
Portrait of a Lady on Fire is by far the best movie currently in theaters and so far it is the best movie to be released in 2020. Portrait of a Lady on Fire is a french film directed by the effeminate Celine Sciamma. The movie made the rounds last year at several film festivals and won the best screenplay award at the Cannes Film Festival. The story is set in 18th century France and follows Marrianne, a painter who is commissioned to paint a wedding portrait for the daughter of a wealthy widow. Heloise, the woman who’s having her portrait done, has refused to have her portrait done in order to delay an arranged marriage set up by her mother. Marianne is tasked to be a companion for the isolated Heloise and paint her portrait through memory without Heloise knowing.
In the first half of the film, Marianne sneaks gazes at Heloise and at times Heloise catches her. Heloise smiles and perceives this as a yearnful glance of affection and then later infatuation from Marianne. Slowly and over time they converse and discover more about one another until their link is woven into a palpable love that is incomparable to any other romance film I have seen before. That is the biggest strength of this film. The love for the two leads is more than believable. It’s very much real. The bulk of the story takes place over a handful of days, so the film’s slow pacing works to it’s advantage because it feels as though the audience is seeing Marianne’s and Heloise’s affection for one another in real time.
The look of the film is breathtaking. The color’s of the movie pop, contrast, and complement each gorgeously. The backdrop of the deep cloudless blue sky pairs beautifully with the vibrant hues of the ocean. Then contrasts the sandy browns and beige. Portrait of a Lady on Fire looks as though it were shot on film but it was rather shot digitally with a Red Weapon Monstro camera and a pair of Leica Thalia Lenses. You could pause this film at any moment and it would look like a 1700’s painting.
The acting in this film is phenomenal. Noémie Merlant (Marianne) and Adele Haenel (Heloise) convey the essence of their emotion not just through dialogue but through facial expressions for most of the movie. Adele Haenel’s performance is a tangible force of reckoning. There are scenes where she’s required to emote with such an intensity. I’ve yet to see a performance as emotional as hers. You fall in love in Heloise much like Marianne does. Marianne’s performance is pinnacle to the success of this film due to her being the conduit of the story. The audience primarily has to feel what Marianne feels due to her being the main character and she succeeds.
The music is a strong point for Portrait of a Lady on Fire. The music is sparse but rivets and crashes loudly during important scenes in the movie. This adds even more resonance and power to those scene. The music can be considered a character because it’s motivated and has a purpose in the telling of this story. Overall, the music is purely memorable and is used to great effect.
There’s nothing to dislike about this film. Portrait of a Lady on Fire treats it’s audience with patience and respect. The movie doesn’t shoehorn unnecessary exposition to inform the audience and play catch-up with them. The film would rather use subtlety. A subtlety that is masterfully conveyed visually, through the camera work or by the actor’s expressions. At worst, the film is slow paced. This is not an issue unless you are someone who particularly avoids movies that are on the slower side but the running time of the movie itself isn’t particularly long. The film dials in at an hour and 59 minutes. The movie is in French and it does have subtitles if you’re watching it in the United States but again, that is a non-issue for most people unless you specifically avoid subtitled movies.
Portrait of a Lady on Fire is one of the finest pieces of film to have come out in the past decade. It tackles love better than most movies in it’s genre. Even Palme d’Or winner Blue is the Warmest Color pales in comparison. This movie is genuine. This movie is more than homosexuality. I would say it is not an LGBT film but it rather uses homosexuality as a device to show its audience that love can transcend societal norms and conventions. I give this movie top marks. 5/5 stars.
Cinema Dive 