Finally got to see this recently, and despite having to endure months of hype from critics and privileged festival-goers, the film more than met expectations. Michael Haneke has never made a more
moving and emotionally honest picture than this celebrated Palme d'Or
winner; a heartrending study of what love really means.
Set almost entirely in the apartment of
George and Anne, an elderly couple whose life together requires
significant readjustment when Anne suffers a mild stroke, Amour
effectively imposes a sensation of being trapped by a hopeless
situation; a revelant thematic undercurrent to the piece. Haneke's
often static camera rarely cuts to different angles within a single
scene, allowing us to fully absorb his actors' unbroken performances,
and yet it never feels like a play put on film. Using efficient vignettes
to evoke the gradual decline of Anne's condition keeps the film's
stillness from boring the viewer, and with a pair of such soulful
performances on display, it's hard to look away.
Emmanuelle Riva is getting the most
notice from awards bodies for her incredibly nuanced embodiment of a
woman becoming increasingly trapped by her own body, exhibiting
remarkable control over her physicality throughout. Jean-Louis
Trintignant is equally refined in his ability to tap into deep
emotions through quiet gestures and minimalist expression. As the
couple's frustrated daughter, Isabelle Huppert conveys in just a
handful of scenes all the pain and anguish of being truly powerless
over the inevitable.
**** out of ****
