For It Is Man's Number: virginie efira

Showing posts with label virginie efira. Show all posts

Monday, 18 April 2022

Mubi Monday: Benedetta (2021)

It's been a while since I've actually watched a new Paul Verhoeven movie, despite the fact that I own both Black Book and Elle, two films that had very good reviews when released. Benedetta was just impossible to resist though, being the story of a nun who develops a reputation for her religious visions, as well as an erotic relationship with another woman.

Based on a book by Judith C. Brown that surely drew Verhoeven to it like a moth to a lightbulb, titled "Immodest Acts: The Life Of A Lesbian Nun In Renaissance Italy", Benedetta may have the lurid plot synopsis and plot elements that seem designed to surely titillate viewers, but it allows for Verhoeven to work in his typically subversive style, confidently and maturely exploring ideas of love, faith, and power in the hands of those who seek to manipulate a situation to best suit their own needs.

Virginie Efira plays Benedetta, a woman who has given her life to god since she was a small child. Occasionally butting heads with her Abbess (Charlotte Rampling), Benedetta finds herself confused and succumbing to a healthy does of pleasures of the flesh when she convinces the convent to take in a young woman named Bartolomea (Daphne Patakia). Then there's a case of stigmata, which leads to a change in structure at the convent, as well as divided opinion of just how holy Benedetta might be.

Written by Verhoeven and David Birke (who worked with the director on Elle), Benedetta is a film you can take a number of different ways. There are times when it just feels like nunsploitation, that's true, but a lot of the film points out religious hypocrisy, and questioning why love and lust are such a great sin, especially when the person battling such "sin" is also apparently responsible for a lot of good. And there's an interesting look at just what constitutes a miracle or an act of god, considering how god is supposed to move through people. This is brought to the fore when Benedetta is questioned about the cause of her stigmata.

Of course, being a Verhoeven film, there's also more to dig into. The way those who purport to do good can be complicit in evil deeds by simply remaining silent is another important point, but there's also the double-standards that become more obvious when learning about the behaviour of those who place themselves as morally superior to all others.

Efira is excellent in the main role, a perfect mixture of innocence and possible deceit. I have been a fan of her since seeing In Bed With Victoria and Sybil (both recommended), and I went into this knowing that there would be at least one great performance. Rampling, someone who I think can be hit or miss, depending on the writing, also does great work. Her character is justifiably cynical, yet also tries often to do things as they should be done (in terms of the religious hierarchy). Patakia is a little bit weaker than the two more experienced actresses that she ends up working with, but she does well in conveying someone with a wild streak who has found the convent as a salvation, more than a calling. The other very important character in the whole story is played by Lambert Wilson, who is excellent at acting superior to everyone around him, looking to maintain control of people even as his grasp on the situation seems to become untenable.

Surprisingly tasteful throughout, and I realise I am saying this about a film in which a character uses a piece of religious iconography to craft a wooden dildo, Benedetta is a very well-made film that will only shock those who are more easily affected by nudity and any exploration of human sexuality. Sex isn't evil, it's not a sin, and the way it is used by those who want to take power away from Benedetta is typical of attitudes still disappointingly prevalent in modern society.

9/10

If you have enjoyed this, or any other, review on the blog then do consider the following ways to show your appreciation. A subscription/follow costs nothing.
It also costs nothing to like/subscribe to the YouTube channel attached to the podcast I am part of - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCErkxBO0xds5qd_rhjFgDmA
Or you may have a couple of quid to throw at me, in Ko-fi form - https://ko-fi.com/kevinmatthews

Monday, 2 August 2021

Mubi Monday: Sibyl (2019)

Virginie Efira plays Sybil, a psychotherapist who decides that she wants to pursue her love of writing. She drops all of her patients, hoping to give her full time and attention to her craft, but is then called by Margot (Adèle Exarchopoulos). Margot is a young actress who has had an affair with her latest co-star, Igor (Gaspard Ulliel), a man who happens to be the husband of the director, Mika (Sandra Hüller). Not only has she had that affair, Margot is also pregnant, which means she is contemplating an abortion when she first talks to Sybil. Drawn into this complex and dramatic situation, Sybil starts to incorporate elements of Margot's life into her writing, and she also allows herself the opportunity to creep into a very different world, one in which the line between reality and fiction is as blurred as her own view of the world around her.

A fascinating look at some very interesting ideas, Sybil marries a great script, co-written by director Justine Triet and Arthur Hararai, with a cast all very much capable of doing their best in the roles they have been given. What could have been filtered a number of different ways, the same material could have been a standard melodrama or even a glossy psycho-thriller, has been crafted into a near-flawless character study that has characters often so confused with their own choices and mindsets that viewers take an extra step or two to realise when things are sliding horribly, and inexorably, in the wrong direction for them.

Triet directs with an approach that brings viewers as close as possible to the two main leads (Efira and Exarchopoulos) and has us wanting to protect them from themselves, whether the pain comes from their own actions or the reactions of others. The moments of fantasy feel very easily identified during the earlier scenes, but it becomes harder and harder to figure out what is real and what isn't as we get closer to the very end of the film.

Efira is excellent, as authoritative and poised as she needs to be for many scenes before slowly and surely losing some control, and Exarchopoulos is equally good, portraying someone more naive and more used to delving in and out of scenarios that are complete fantasy. Ulliel does fine in his role, although his role ensures that he's the one main character who is easiest to dislike, or at least not care about, and Hüller excels as the angry director/hurt woman who is in some ways working opposite Sybil for the ability to ultimately control Margot for a short space of time. There are some other people around this selection of characters, and everyone does a good job in their roles, but it's this quartet that remains the focus throughout.

Never shying away from the many feelings that are brought to the surface by the strange circumstances, Sybil manages to be thought-provoking, tense, funny, and erotic, sometimes all at once, and it's a film that makes me want to further explore the careers of everyone involved. And anyone else feeling the same way could do a lot worse than a previous team-up of the director and star, In Bed With Victoria.

9/10