THE TRUTH (LA VERITE)

Director
Hirokazu Koreeda
(SHOPLIFTERS, AFTER THE STORM, LIKE FATHER LIKE SON)

Starring
Catherine Deneuve, Juliette Binoche and Ethan Hawke

From the outset, THE TRUTH is a cinematic gift from France to foreign cinema aficionados around the world. The pairing of two of France’s finest actors in Catherine Deneuve and Juliette Binoche as mother and daughter is a treat itself. This treat is sweetened furthermore by being made under the direction of Hirokazu Koreeda,
last year’s Palme d’Or winner whose film SHOPLIFTERS was nominated for Best Foreign Language Picture at the 2019 Academy Awards ®.

A screenwriter living in the U.S, Lumir (Juliette Binoche) returns home to Paris with her American husband, Hank (Ethan Hawke), an ex-alcoholic and struggling actor, and their young daughter, for the release of an autobiographical book written by Lumir’s mother, celebrated actress Fabienne Dangeville (Catherine Deneuve). The visit quickly re-opens old wounds yet to be healed between the two women, which begins to crack the unshakable craft of the aging actress who’s rehearsing for a science-fiction drama that’s also placing her in unfamiliar and uncomfortable thematic territory.

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Japanese writer and director Hirokazu Koreeda’s first non-Japanese speaking film hasn’t and won’t quite earn the same high level of appreciation as his previous film, but it is more than satisfying throughout as it unwraps each of its layers.

Ultimately, it is the accomplished performances from the two leads and the rising anticipation for the staggered revelation of the reasons why those wounds exist and still inflict pain that anchored me to THE TRUTH. Even as Lumir first re-enters her mother’s luxurious residence at the beginning of the film, it is evident the friction between them has never gone anywhere. The screenplay soon reveals the name of a character that is undoubtedly a significant contributor to all things being thought and felt, and rouses greater curiosity by doing so. Curiosity that evolves into something deeper throughout the second half of the film as Fabienne’s rigidly regulated emotional functionality and her composure, both professionally and personally, suffers their gradual loss of complete control. This is when THE TRUTH really becomes fascinating, as it provokes thought from those such as myself who love to sink their teeth into a decent character-study. But also because of the consequential changes that start to form in Fabienne’s relationship with her daughter. The more intrigued I was by this character, the more invested I felt to the marvellous performance from Catherine Deneuve.

3 ½ stars

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Viewer Discretion
PG (Mild themes, sexual references and coarse language)