Rust and Bone

Think this one will split people. Ali (Matthias Schoenaerts) arrives in France looking for work in order to help support his young son. Taking a job as a doorman he meets Stephanie (Marion Cotillard) and helps her out when she gets caught up in a rumble at the nightclub Ali works in. That looks like that until Stephanie suffers a serious accident in her role as a trainer of killer whales (both her lower legs have to be amputated) and whilst adjusting to her disability she calls Ali out of the blue and they begin a friendship / relationship (as well as her taking a supporting role in Ali’s new found “career” of bare knuckle boxing). So, an impressive emotional character study of two people suffering from the setbacks life has thrown at them? Or is this just an exercise in patronising worthiness? It’s actually a bit of both. This is director Jacques Audiard’s first film since the blistering A Prophet of a few years ago, but this has little of that magic. Comparisons can be made between the films in that they both deal with characters being placed in exceptional circumstances, but whereas even though A Prophet was, in effect, about a criminal, we still had sympathy for the main character. In Rust and Bone there’s little love for the audience to give. Schoenaerts Ali is basically just a selfish arsehole, with virtually all the misery that befalls his character down to his own crass manner and actions. Cotillard’s Stephanie garners more emotion (for obvious reasons), but why she hooks up (and then remains) with Ali is a bit of a mystery. On the plus side the performance by Cotillard is great (the scene where she discovers she has lost her legs is as uncomfortable as it gets) and the special effects that portray her injuries are highly impressive and pretty much flawless. Based on Craig Davidson’s novel of the same name, Audiard has made one major change for his version (changing the trainer from a male to a female) citing the overflow of men in his last film as the reason. On the plus side this means we get a cracking performance from Cotillard, but the film is still unbalanced as to whether it wants to follow Ali or Stephanie and the overall story potters along rather than gripping your attention. On a side issue, this film made plenty of waves before it came out due to the trailer giving away the major plot point of Stephanie’s injury. Frankly it doesn’t make any difference to the end product (this is hardly Psycho) and I even felt it actually added to the tension in the build-up to the accident itself (which is subtly portrayed by Audiard when it does occur). So worthy or worthy? You decide.

The OC Film Sting Final Verdict

A decent enough film, aided by some remarkable special effects. Just don’t expect A Prophet Mark II, mind. Rating: 7/10.