Rust and Bone (Jacques Audiard)

[Mysterious Dude]

imdb

Original title: De rouille et d'os

Directed by Jacques Audiard

[Ezee E]

It's been a while since I've seen it. Great performances, but Audiard really needed to pick a different song...

[Pop Trash]

It's been a while since I've seen it. Great performances, but Audiard really needed to pick a different song...

You mean Katy Perry? I've only watched that one scene, but unless there are other uses of it in the movie, I rather liked the "is this sincere or ironic and does it really matter?" quality to it.

[Ezee E]

You mean Katy Perry? I've only watched that one scene, but unless there are other uses of it in the movie, I rather liked the "is this sincere or ironic and does it really matter?" quality to it.

I don't know... I thought that the first time around as it being "ironic" but I think it's sincere... And it's just annoying the second time around.

I prefer Audiard in his crime mode, the movie is at its best when it's dealing with Schoenarts' fighting angle. Marion is spectacular as an actress in whatever she does, so the movie still works, but comparing this to any of Audiard's previous works is a slight step back.

Ugh, and I like this movie too. A lot.

[The Bad Guy]

You mean Katy Perry? I've only watched that one scene, but unless there are other uses of it in the movie, I rather liked the "is this sincere or ironic and does it really matter?" quality to it.

I didn't really see it as anything other than the type of song that would be played in that real life environment. It makes perfect sense that they would be playing pop music during a whale show.

[Ezee E]

I didn't really see it as anything other than the type of song that would be played in that real life environment. It makes perfect sense that they would be playing pop music during a whale show.

Agreed there. But they could've picked tons of other songs is all...

[NickGlass]

Considering the whole tacky arty Lifetime third act of this movie, Katy Perry is the least of its problems.

[Grouchy]

I agree that the third act falls into some sort of melodrama angle that Audiard seemed to be determined to avoid earlier on the movie... but I really can't imagine how it should have ended instead. It's a step back from A Prophet but still a fine film.

I didn't recognize it was a Katy Perry song. I don't know any of her songs. It struck me as the sort of music the character would listen to.

Anyone else thought it was interesting that both lead characters are written to be assholes? It seems hard to care for people like this, and yet their lives are so desperate it works.

[The Bad Guy]

I may be alone in this but I feel that it's almost the opposite of melodrama. Rather than allowing their circumstances to get to them, these characters are remarkably resilient. Aside from Stephanie's sorrow in the wake of losing her legs, I don't really see the film as melodramatic.

The point of the story (in my opinion) is that these characters never encounter real tragedy. They suffer setbacks in their lives but they don't allow these setbacks to have mastery over them. Breaking your hands as a fighter can be overcome, losing your job or even losing your legs isn't the end of the world. Losing your son or a loved one would have been tragic, but fortunately that didn't happen.

[Grouchy]

I may be alone in this but I feel that it's almost the opposite of melodrama. Rather than allowing their circumstances to get to them, these characters are remarkably resilient. Aside from Stephanie's sorrow in the wake of losing her legs, I don't really see the film as melodramatic.

The point of the story (in my opinion) is that these characters never encounter real tragedy. They suffer setbacks in their lives but they don't allow these setbacks to have mastery over them. Breaking your hands as a fighter can be overcome, losing your job or even losing your legs isn't the end of the world. Losing your son or a loved one would have been tragic, but fortunately that didn't happen.

You're absolutely right, but I was talking solely about the "falling into the ice" bit. That's a fortuitous circumstance that causes a change of heart and even an epiphany in the main character. And that - I think - is melodrama.

EDIT: Mind you, melodrama is a genre, not a negative adjective. But it did feel inconsistent with the tone of the rest of the movie.

[Morris Schæffer]

I didn't think this movie was melodramatic, but perhaps it falls into the trap of hurling one too many hardhips at its protagonists? And the ending, on the phone, well, for some reason it didn't move me all that much. The whole relationship had something of a mechanical air to it. Schoenaerts, who was astonishing in Bullhead, was a bit of a one-note knucklehead, and suddenly he changes because of what happened. I guess it all could have felt more organic, gradual, but it's been 9months since I'v seen it.

[NickGlass]

What about the sister/supermarket stuff? Goopy moralizing pablum.

[Grouchy]

What about the sister/supermarket stuff? Goopy moralizing pablum.

Nah, completely disagree. The guy was participating into what he thought was a victimless crime, and it turned out his sister became a victim. That's just dramatic irony.

Remember the character was also a borderline-psycho shit. He didn't seem to care about anyone until the very ending.