Abdel Kechiche's heartfelt attempt to render the difficulties and vicissitudes of the Arab minority experience in contemporary France is an admirable and engaging one, at least initially. For the first half of what transpires to be an overlong engagement (at two and a half hours), he's quite adept at delineating the minute emotional and psychological registers of his characters in a style reminiscent of Cassavettes. There's a strong pull in the way the predominance of close-ups and streams of rambling, continuous and naturalistic dialogue propel the viewer into an almost claustrophobic intimacy with the lives of Slimane's immediate and extended family members. One very good payoff inherent in this approach are the numerous suggestions of deeper emotional interests barely withheld even while words are ostensibly offered as honest indicators between people, which does much to contribute a charged and vibrant texture to their various interactions.
Unfortunately, this rather heightened naturalism is drastically compromised by Kechiche's shift into unsuccessful melodrama, by way of crudely manipulating plot mechanics to forcibly generate suspense and push the emotional temperature, convincingly delineated up to now through ample character development, in a clichéd and much less satisfying direction for the film's remainder. It's a shame, as it has the effect of belittling so many of the outstanding performances his wonderful cast contributes to make the film memorable, and which not least earn much of our sympathies along the way. The complexities of the relationships which he so carefully orchestrated and which served to move us legitimately, get sadly displaced by contrived events which eclipse this previously far richer focus by substituting a suspense thriller gambit: will things end in total disaster... or can they be saved?
This seems like dishonest film-making since throughout the film, Kechiche has readily suggested some of the ways which could possibly work against Slimane's plans to successfully operate his restaurant boat, and some of these are presented quite clearly as tantalizing possibilities. However (and without revealing the ultimate fate of the restaurant's inaugural evening party), what appears as impending failure is entirely due, not to contingencies of personal, social or political elements in conflict with his plans, but sadly an unnecessary creative interference imposed by nothing more than a scriptwriter's decree: an artificially generated happenstance which derails everything.
As if this weren't enough, Kechiche additionally forces the pathos needlessly by introducing yet a second incident, which not only further dashes Slimane's hopes, but unfortunately marks the film's entry into an unsubtle realm of allegory, with the action suddenly acquiring a burden of obvious metaphorical meaning, an approach that has been heavily (and heavy-handedly) favored in films by Makhmalbaf, and which make his films relentlessly unsatisfying. And so the film quickly devolves even further into one in which the diminishing returns are painfully drawn out for the remaining hour or so, with fully predictable results.
By forcing a symbolic dimension on his character's plight rather than maintaining his earlier naturalism, Kechiche effectively eradicates the conviction previously established in his efforts to raise our consciousness about the human condition, through a fair range of many foibles and attributes of character generously displayed. To be fair, there is some last-moment evidence (on the part of some of the characters) of the lengths which the human spirit willingly contributes whatever efforts possible to salvage an impending disaster, but an ability to come across as genuinely moving has already been undone.
Considering the personal cost for Slimane in realizing his project, Kechiche's ill-judged narrative choices aren't just a major disappointment merely because he opted to apply the kind of cheap plot devices all too typical of the dramatic expediency found in Hollywood films. In this light, it appears an act of disregard for his earlier humanism and hard-won truths, so it's an especially ethical disappointment as well.
Unfortunately, this rather heightened naturalism is drastically compromised by Kechiche's shift into unsuccessful melodrama, by way of crudely manipulating plot mechanics to forcibly generate suspense and push the emotional temperature, convincingly delineated up to now through ample character development, in a clichéd and much less satisfying direction for the film's remainder. It's a shame, as it has the effect of belittling so many of the outstanding performances his wonderful cast contributes to make the film memorable, and which not least earn much of our sympathies along the way. The complexities of the relationships which he so carefully orchestrated and which served to move us legitimately, get sadly displaced by contrived events which eclipse this previously far richer focus by substituting a suspense thriller gambit: will things end in total disaster... or can they be saved?
This seems like dishonest film-making since throughout the film, Kechiche has readily suggested some of the ways which could possibly work against Slimane's plans to successfully operate his restaurant boat, and some of these are presented quite clearly as tantalizing possibilities. However (and without revealing the ultimate fate of the restaurant's inaugural evening party), what appears as impending failure is entirely due, not to contingencies of personal, social or political elements in conflict with his plans, but sadly an unnecessary creative interference imposed by nothing more than a scriptwriter's decree: an artificially generated happenstance which derails everything.
As if this weren't enough, Kechiche additionally forces the pathos needlessly by introducing yet a second incident, which not only further dashes Slimane's hopes, but unfortunately marks the film's entry into an unsubtle realm of allegory, with the action suddenly acquiring a burden of obvious metaphorical meaning, an approach that has been heavily (and heavy-handedly) favored in films by Makhmalbaf, and which make his films relentlessly unsatisfying. And so the film quickly devolves even further into one in which the diminishing returns are painfully drawn out for the remaining hour or so, with fully predictable results.
By forcing a symbolic dimension on his character's plight rather than maintaining his earlier naturalism, Kechiche effectively eradicates the conviction previously established in his efforts to raise our consciousness about the human condition, through a fair range of many foibles and attributes of character generously displayed. To be fair, there is some last-moment evidence (on the part of some of the characters) of the lengths which the human spirit willingly contributes whatever efforts possible to salvage an impending disaster, but an ability to come across as genuinely moving has already been undone.
Considering the personal cost for Slimane in realizing his project, Kechiche's ill-judged narrative choices aren't just a major disappointment merely because he opted to apply the kind of cheap plot devices all too typical of the dramatic expediency found in Hollywood films. In this light, it appears an act of disregard for his earlier humanism and hard-won truths, so it's an especially ethical disappointment as well.