Portrait of a Lady on Fire focuses on a painter named Marianne, played by Noemie Merlant, who is hired to paint the portrait of a woman named Heloise, played by Adele Haenel, as is tradition at the time when a woman is to be married. However, Heloise has made it explicitly clear she doesn’t wish to get married and refuses to be painted. This leads Marianne having to pose as a companion to accompany Heloise on walks and is forced into painting her by memory to appease Heloise’s mother, played by Valeria Golino. As time goes on, Marianne comes to realize this task will be a lot more difficult than she expected.
Generally, I’ve always found many period pieces to be slow-moving, with a heavy emphasis on dialogue. And in that respect, this film is seemingly no different. This is a film where event-wise, not a whole lot happens. There are only so many dramatic beats that occur within this film, and a lot of the emphasis is placed on the conversations that Marianne and Heloise have. In that respect, it may lead to some to call this film uninteresting or boring.
However, despite feeling at first like many other period pieces, this is a film that actually doesn’t waste almost any of its time. It’s a film based a lot around two characters sitting around and talking, but in those moments, a lot of tension is built up. Due to the circumstances that have placed these two women together, and the amount of lying that has to go into Marianne successfully pulling off this portrait, there’s already a major fear of her being discovered, and there are several moments where her cover is almost blown. She has to ask Heloise certain questions in order to evoke certain facial expressions, and in doing so, this leads to moments where it seems Heloise is suspicious of her.
This is a film that takes its time with its characters, staying in the moment with them. Shots will linger on their facial expressions as they react to certain pieces of news, and there are times where they’re having a conversation, yet they won’t constantly fill the air with dialogue. This allows for a lot of time to be spent with nearly every character, especially given that there are only a handful of major players in this story.
What makes them both so interesting though is just how emotional and how honest they are with one another, ironically due to the fact that they barely know each other. They have no real personal attachment to one another at first, and know their time together is very temporary. Because of this, they have no problem spouting their personal histories to the other, and offering harsh criticisms on their views of art and life.
Though Marianne and Heloise eventually grow closer as they reveal more information to one another. Yet there’s never really a big moment where there’s a major personality shift. There’s never a larger-than-life scene in which the two put everything out in the open, and suddenly everything’s peachy keen. Their bond is one that subtly grows, and treats their growth as it would truly occur in the real world: Slow moving, and learning little by little, rather than happening overnight in one big reveal.
Because of how natural their progression feels, the audience is easily able to get invested in them. They feel like truly real people. And what helps too is due to the performances. Both Noemie Merlant and Adele Haenel are excellent, and their chemistry is by far this film’s strongest element. There is only so much about both characters in terms of backstory that’s revealed up front to the audience, with more information being inferred rather than given. A question may be asked, and the question may be avoided, but due to a facial expression, or even the way in which the question is dodged, so much is subtly revealed about both of them.
And as the film goes along, they become two people who the audience can truly root for. There’s very much a charm element to both women’s performances that makes them almost instantly intriguing. Yet by the halfway point, one may find themselves really rooting for both of them, and really caring what happens to them, and that’s thanks to just how much emotion went into both performances.
Besides Heloise’s mother, the one other major player in the film is her servant Sophie, played by Luana Bajrami. She serves as the film’s major source of comic relief, easing up some of the tension that’s felt, without ever coming across as a jarring tonal shift. This movie doesn’t stop to make jokes, rather than get a few good laughs through how a character would naturally react or through them honestly trying to help the other out, and the scenario just being naturally funny.
Though Sophie also has a major subplot of her own, and what’s nice about it is how masterfully it’s woven into the main plot. Not only does it give her so much character development and a true personality of her own, it also does a great job of servicing Marianne and Heloise’s stories. And it never feels distracting, or as if the film is taking this detour to go on about Sophie. Each time they go back to her subplot feels important, and only helps to strengthen the personalities of all three characters. Viewers may find themselves just as easily invested in her without even realizing, which is telling of just how excellent the storytelling is here.
The one other major element of this film that makes this film great is its cinematography. The film is absolutely dripping with color, just like a painting. The landscapes are just breathtaking, and the moments where characters are sitting around to speak with each other feel like they could be framed. This is one of the most visually stunning movies of the year, and it achieved it so without the use of any special effects or computer-generated graphics. One can pause the movie at any given moment and have it turned into a portrait, for just how beautiful it all looked.
Portrait of a Lady on Fire is a beautiful, moving character piece that manages to give its audience so much with only very little happening. While it’s a film that takes its time, it’s anything but boring. Through its wonderfully written characters and absolutely breathtaking cinematography, it consistently engages its audience, anchored by some truly excellent work from both director Celine Sciamma and actresses Noemie Merlant and Adele Haenel. It’s a film that took me by surprise for just how well it displayed its craft, and is truly one of the year’s best films.
Recommendation: Must-See
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