“An Easy Girl”– Movie Review

On the opening weekend of Lincoln Center’s French Film Festival, I attended the North American Premiere of the new comedy-drama, “An Easy Girl”, directed by Rebecca Zlotowski. 

Synopsis

When a teenager spends the summer with her older cousin, will the older girl’s wanton behavior rub off on the younger one? 

Story

It’s June in the glamorous Cannes section of France; school has ended, the summer has begun and Naïma (Mina Farid) has just turned 16 years of age.  Her future is uncertain now that she’s out of school:  does she want to become an actress or be a chef?  She spends much of her time preparing for acting auditions with her gay male friend Dodo (Lakdhar Dridi), who also wishes to pursue an acting career.  However, her destiny seems to be clear:  her family is expecting her to spend her days working in the kitchen of a local restaurant, not going out on auditions. 

Shortly after finishing school, Naïma is visited by her cousin Sofia (Zahia Dehar), who will spend the summer with her.  Naïma is ecstatic with this surprise, not only because she gets along so well with Sofia but also because at 22, Sofia is older and much more worldly than Naïma; Naïma feels that by hanging out with Sofia, she will inherit some of her “cool”.  Sofia’s air of sophistication comes from her extensive experience with men – especially older men.  While Naïma is not unattractive, she can’t compare to Sofia’s stunning beauty.  Men find her utterly irresistible. 

Before too long, Sofia catches the eye of two successful businessmen vacationing on a yacht in the French Riviera.  One of the men engages in an intense sexual relationship with Sofia while the other man assumes a more avuncular role with Naïma – who was looking for a bit more as a way of rebounding from the recent breakup with her boyfriend.  As the four spend time together, they become increasingly at ease with each other – perhaps a little too much so.  At one point, the man having an affair with Sofia accuses the two young women of stealing from him and throws both of them off the yacht.  Now that their flirtation with wealth is at an end, will this ruin the relationship between Sofia and Naïma? 

Review

Although couched as an adolescent female coming-of-age movie, make no mistake about it:  thanks to the presence of the drop-dead gorgeous Zahia Dehar, “An Easy Girl” is a fun, sexy romp that can certainly be enjoyed on those merits alone. Dehar wears some truly amazing outfits – some of which are see-through and it is virtually impossible to ignore her killer body.  This young woman may turn out to be the Brigitte Bardot of the current generation. Once she appears on-screen, Dehar steals the show and when she leaves, your interest in the film is soon to follow (thankfully, it ends shortly thereafter).  

As for the movie itself, “An Easy Girl” is an interesting look into a world unfamiliar to most of us:  that of the full time residents of the city of Cannes.  Due to its world-famous film festival that has taken place for decades, Cannes has reached a rarefied degree of both glamor and infamy – which may be well-deserved.  But once the festival is over, what of the people who live there all year long?  What are their lives like?  What kind of people inhabit this place?  “An Easy Girl” works well in that it humanizes these people rather than making cartoon characters out of them.

Following the screening, there was an interview with the director and co-writer of “An Easy Girl”, Rebecca Zlotowski.  Zlotowski said that while Zahia Dehar, the young woman who plays Sofia, may not be known in the United States, she’s rather infamous in Europe.  It turns out that during her mid-teens, Dehar worked as a paid professional escort to wealthy older men and become notorious when it was discovered she was having a scandalous affair with a star soccer player about a decade ago.  The director reached out to her on social media to inquire as to her interest in playing this role; she believed that given her background, Dehar would be the perfect choice to portray a young woman who was sexually emancipated.  

“The Truth”– Movie Review

On the opening night of Lincoln Center’s French Film Festival, I attended a screening of the New York Premiere for the new family drama by director Hirokazu Kore-eda, “The Truth”, starring Catherine Deneuve, Juliette Binoche and Ethan Hawke. 

Synopsis

At a family reunion, can the matriarch resolve past conflicts when confronted by her daughter? 

Story

With her long-awaited memoirs about to be published, famed actress Fabienne (Deneuve) gears up to do a substantial amount of publicity for it while shooting her latest movie.  As this occurs, her daughter, Lumir (Binoche), a screenwriter, returns to Fabienne’s home in Paris to help her celebrate.  Lumir, who now lives in New York City, is not alone – she brings her own family, which includes her daughter and her husband Hank (Hawke), an American television actor.  This is the first time in years Lumir has seen her mother; the last time she visited her, Lumir’s daughter was an infant and Hank was absent (because he was in rehab for his alcoholism).

When Lumir finally gets a chance to read a copy of Fabienne’s book, she’s aghast at the abundance of lies, half-truths and misleading statements her mother has made.  Rather than coming clean about her life and their relationship, Fabienne paints a much different picture in her memoirs, making her appear much the heroine and looking at her world through rose-colored glasses.  In addition to that, Fabienne’s book has omitted mentions of her long-time companion, a man she has been with since divorcing her husband (Lumir’s biological father) decades ago. 

As the free-flowing French wine surrounds the entire family, Lumir’s concerns about Hank falling off the wagon grow; initially sticking to strictly drinking water, he ultimately gets caught up in the ambiance and begins to indulge himself – getting drunk and misbehaving.  Meanwhile, Fabienne is consumed with worries over her co-star Manon (Manon Clavel), a promising young actress who is featured in the science fiction film they are shooting together; she reminds Fabienne of a contemporary actress from her past – someone with whom Fabienne would have to compete for roles.  All of this occurs against a backdrop of anxiety as Lumir tries desperately to straighten out her mother regarding the truth of their past.  Before Lumir returns to New York City, will she be able to get Fabienne to concede some of the reality behind their often dysfunctional relationship?      

Review

“The Truth” is an entertaining little trifle – perhaps best described as a warm and flaky croissant:  enjoyable without being totally satisfying.  Arguably, its best feature is the cast – the performances are just as wonderful as you would expect.  Nothing extraordinary to be seen here, yet pleasant enough to make an effort to see.  One might get the impression that without the director and big-name actors attached to the project, this might’ve wound up being either a minor independent film or even a made-for-TV movie.         

While there are certainly a number of amusing moments in “The Truth”, it must be noted that the movie is never oppressively dour to be clearly identified as a drama, either.  It is neither a comedy nor a drama; instead, it falls somewhere in between.  Also, it hardly can be described as something of an average family here – everyone in this story is rather well to do.  As a result, it may be hard to relate for some people.  All of the primary characters are in the entertainment industry in some form.  Are we to understand from the film that this sort of family dysfunction doesn’t occur for people who own a small neighborhood convenience store? 

Ultimately, the truth of “The Truth” is highlighted by the subplot of the movie-within-a-movie.  Fabienne is coming up on the end of a shoot for a science-fiction flick where her character’s own mother doesn’t age because the woman spent seven years in space – where you don’t age.  In this topsy-turvy world, the daughter ages while the mother does not.  Here, the screenplay cleverly underlines the personal problem that is facing Fabienne:  the fact that she is aging and it seems like the rest of the world is so much younger than she.