“Let the Sunshine In”– Movie Review

This past weekend, I attended a screening at The 55th New York Film Festival for the North American Premiere of the new comedy, “Let The Sunshine In” (AKA, “Bright Sunshine In” or its original French title, “Un beau soleil intérieur”), directed by Claire Denis and starring Juliette Binoche.  

Synopsis

Can a middle-aged divorced mother find true love despite all of the unworthy men she encounters?

Story

Following her divorce, Isabelle (Binoche) finds that without being in a romantic entanglement with a man is an empty existence indeed.  In order to fix this, she starts sleeping with a number of men in the hope that one of them frogs will emerge as her prince if she kisses them enough.  Unfortunately for Isabelle, each one of these men are profoundly imperfect.  Some are married, some are emotionally distant and others are far too involved in their career to be capable of giving love to another person.  None of this prevents Isabelle from repeatedly bedding them, however.   

This does not get in the way of Isabelle either caring for her daughter or negatively impacting her work as an artist; she shares custody of her daughter with her ex-husband (with whom she occasionally has a bit of a fling) and her internal conflict seems to prove an inspiration for her work.  Nevertheless, she still sees a man who steadfastly refuses to leave his wife (Xavier Beauvois) and a self-absorbed actor (Nicolas Duvauchelle) who is also cheating on his spouse among sundry others who give the impression that they are equally unworthy of this woman’s charms. 

Finally, and in an act of total desperation, Isabelle decides to start seeing a fortune teller (Gérard Depardieu).  Unknown to Isabelle, this man has recently ended a relationship of his own and suddenly finds himself single, but now with a most attractive woman as a client.  When Isabelle informs him of her predicament, he may be seeing it as an opportunity for himself.  Revealing the potential future she may have with various men, he describes them in most unflattering ways.  Is he trying to seduce Isabelle or is she trying to seduce him?

Review

In 1818, poet John Keats wrote “Endymion”, which begins with the line, "A thing of beauty is a joy for ever".  Keats could have been talking about either Claire Denis’ “Let The Sunshine In” or its star, Juliette Binoche.  Both are things of beauty and a joy forever – although, perhaps for different reasons.  Binoche has never been sexier or funnier than she is as Isabelle and Denis’ light touch makes you feel as though you’re savoring the most exquisite soufflé that’s ever crossed your palate. The director’s passion for this work is only exceeded by Isabelle’s passion for life’s sensual delights.    

Both the movie and Binoche’s portrayal of Isabelle are deliciously sexy and naughty.  “Let The Sunshine In” and Binoche’s performance will leave you almost feeling deliriously intoxicated.  Binoche’s character is sexually ferocious without crossing the line into nymphomania.  While funny, there’s also a touch of sadness to it because ultimately, this woman is unhappy as she is unable to feel and reciprocate true love.  It’s less about sex than a deeper connection; this is an insanely beautiful woman, so she obviously has no problem getting sex whenever she wants  You root for her but you see her as deeply flawed in certain ways, which may have much to do with her inability to find love. 

To say that “Let The Sunshine In” is a romantic comedy would trivialize it a bit; it’s more accurate to characterize it as an updated Fench bedroom farce, but what makes it all the more refreshing is that it is from a strictly distaff perspective (not only is there a female star, but it also was directed by a woman, who collaborated on the screenplay with yet another woman).  This likely also keeps the movie from being tawdry but gritty enough to keep it from being twee.

“Let The Sunshine In” seems to be saying that we are never truly satisfied in our romantic relationships because no one can ever live up to our unrealistically high expectations of them.   Isabelle appears to be a manipulator just as much as she is manipulated herself by the men with whom she associates.  She is in love with the concept of love but not necessarily so fond of long-term commitment.  Perhaps she is the victim of her own artistic quirks. 

This movie is truly a gem and a must-see.  An extremely minor criticism is that its end titles are a bit distracting because they start rolling before the film is over – as a result, if you’re watching a subtitled version (as was this screening), it’s hard to keep up with the dialog while reading the credits.