Peaceful
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Loading... - Grant Berger
- 03 Nov 2022
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In the last decade French star Catherine Deneuve has formed a strong partnership with actress-director Emmanuelle Bercot, starring in three of the director’s four feature films. In each, Deneuve finds herself in caretaker roles. In the best of the three, “On My Way,” her unique brand of spunkiness and enduring allure is in full force. Unfortunately, their latest collaboration, the César-winning drama “Peaceful” (“De son vivant,” or “In His Lifetime” in the original French) is a plodding drama that traps her in a one-dimensional grieving mother role.
Deneuve plays Crystal, a worried mother navigating the terminal cancer diagnosis of her grown son Benjamin (Benoît Magimel). Over the course of four seasons, as Benjamin’s condition deteriorates, Crystal faces the knowledge that she will outlive her own son and what that means for the future. While this angle could have been a more compelling aspect for the film’s focus, it’s played out mostly on the periphery of what becomes an overstuffed ensemble orbiting around Benjamin. Read More...
