In Olivier Assayas’ two-hour feature film, Clouds of Sils Maria, which opens in Toronto on April 10, the alluring Juliette Binoche plays the role of Maria Enders, a successful French actress in her late 40s who’s torn by doubts about her acting abilities. Tired and preoccupied with divorce proceedings, she looks old and frumpy when the camera first pans on her on a train bound for Switzerland.
She’s accompanied by her super efficient and crisp personal assistant, Valentine (Kristen Stewart), who’s both an advisor and confidante. They’re going to Zurich to pick up an award on behalf of Maria’s friend and mentor, a playwright named Wilhlem Melchior, in whose play she starred two decades ago to great acclaim.
Much to her shock, Maria learns that Melchior has suddenly died, his body having been found in a picturesque corner of the Swiss Alps. Nonetheless, Maria and Valentine appear at the award ceremony in his honor.
At this point, Assayas makes a sharp turn, focusing his attention on a job offer Maria receives. An innovative young director offers her a role in the Melchior play in which she starred and excelled as a younger woman. But now, he says, he wants her to tweak the role and portray an older woman opposite a bright young talent, Jo Ann Ellis (Chloe Grace Moritz).
Feeling alone and vulnerable, Maria needs time and space to consider the offer. She retreats to a quaint village in a valley of the Swiss Alps framed by spectacular snow-capped peaks. In a chalet, and on nature walks through stunning mountain and wooded vistas, she and Valentine rehearse lines from the script and discuss the project. Doubtful about it, she decides to pull out. “It doesn’t interest me any more,” she says. Her agent, however, urges her to reconsider.
Maria’s doubts are anchored in her perception that Valentine, a smart and discerning young woman, may be dubious about her acting skills. Valentine, being sensitive to Maria’s insecurities, claims they have different interpretations of Melchior’s play.
In Binoche’s competent hands, Maria is a person riven by contradictions. Self-confident, yet now unsure about her talents, she oscillates between arrogance and vulnerability. And she dreads the thought that her best days as an actress are behind her.
Like Binoche, Stewart and Moritz are marvellous to watch. Stewart, constantly puffing on a cigarette and casually spitting out the F word, is a dynamo. Moritz, oozing false charm, is a kenetic presence.
Clouds of Sils Maria, ably directed by Assayas, is placid on the surface, but seethes with magnetic power.
http://youtu.be/5L-9rcEhGm4