A courageous coming of age story. I appreciate how the exploration of lesbianism is neither superficial nor overdramatic, things these types of movies often fall victim to. The exploration of the lifestyle and sexuality is thorough and interesting, and the relationships between the main characters are real and endearing.
But the sexuality is extremely explicit, perhaps too explicit. This is medium-core porn we’re watching, and it’s jarring and uncomfortable in the context of a dramatic story about real people. And it’s not the lesbian thing. If a more traditional man/woman romance had the same amount of graphic sex, I think I’d be similarly uncomfortable. To me, the extended sex scenes accomplish nothing and are the greatest flaw in this movie.
Exarchopoulos turns in one of the most courageous, uninhibited, and natural performances I have ever seen. For most of the movie, the camera has a love affair with her beautiful face, monitoring it for the most subtle glances or changes in expression with constant close-ups. With a bit less sexuality, I’d say her performance Oscar-worthy. I can’t wait to see what she does next. Seydoux is also good, curiously getting lead billing with less screentime. Kechiche got very natural performances out of these actresses.
No score, which speaks to the realness of the story and characters. The blue motif is everywhere. In just about every shot, there’s something blue that catches your eye.
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