Possessing a unique style of grit and an emotionally taxing story, Jacques Audiard's Rust and Bone is an extraordinary film that focuses heavily on the human psyche and the body's ability to adapt. The end result is an enriching tale that digs deep into the power of the human mind and its effect on the ones we love most.
Marion Cotillard has earned praise for her performance as Stephanie, a young killer whale trailer who loses both of her legs during a marine park accident, and every bit of it is well deserved. Her confidence and elegance at the beginning of the film is radically changed a short time in as fear and vulnerability creep into the crevices of her personality as she attempts to regroup and relearn some of the most basic functions in life, including that of love.
Opposite Cotillard is Matthias Schoenaerts. Most known for his turn in last year's Oscar nominated film Bullhead, Schoenaerts holds his own as Alain van Versch, a struggling father who has just left Belgium for Antibes to live with his sister and her husband.
Just as Stephanie is learning to cope with her new life, Alain is also working to adapt to the responsibilities that come with raising a child. Though they are experiencing change in entirely different ways, their similarities of loss and struggle helps dive their relationship deeper, opening them both up to the possibilities of a bigger loss as each slowly learns how to open up and relinquish some control.
The film is not perfect, far from it in fact. But never does it waiver from its initial purpose. A character study at its finest, Rust and Bone makes you think hard about your life and the way you choose to live it. Cotillard gives one of the best performances of her still young career, and the world simply can't ignore Schoenaerts any longer. Together they exude a rare chemistry that carries the film during its lackluster moments to deliver a story that is simply too emotionally baring not to see.
