MELANIE LAURENT

Bil’s rating (out of 5): BBBB

Original title:  Respire

France, 2014.  Move Movie, Gaumont, Mely Productions, Canal+, Cine@, Sofica Manon 4, Région Languedoc-Roussillon, Centre National De La Cinematographie.  Screenplay by Julien Lambroschini, Mélanie Laurent, based on the novel by Anne-Sophie Brasme.  Cinematography by Arnaud Potier.  Produced by Bruno Levy.  Music by Marc Chouarain.  Production Design by Stanislas Reydellet.  Costume Design by Cecilia Blom.  Film Editing by Guerric Catala. 

Charlene is a good student who keeps her mind on her studies despite a difficult home life with her depressed mother (Isabelle Carré) and a father who only shows up long enough to disappoint them both.  A new girl named Sarah comes to her school and is the picture of cool, her husky voice, rebellious but not immoral attitude and smoking habit enough to make her a rock star to Charlene, who is quickly smitten.

The two become the best of friends, spending all their free time together and, in the film’s most pleasant sequence, enjoy a family trip camping in the woods, before things start to take a turn: familiarity breeds contempt and too much time together creates friction, which inspires Charlene to look into Sarah’s backstory and, when she discovers her dark family secret, it sets a very tense drama in motion.

Charismatic and engaging throughout, Melanie Laurent’s second directorial feature is an original take on a familiar tale, capturing the friendly but tense intimacy between these young women before exploring the very subtle machinations that drive them apart.  The melodrama of the film’s final moments feels a bit overdone, it would have been a fascinating examination of homosocial relationships without it, but there’s also a visceral pleasure in seeing repressed emotions finally find their due release.

Toronto International Film Festival:  2014