Fest Track On Sirk TV Film Review: A WOMAN’S LIFE [Cannes Film Festival - Cannes, France]

The context of the progression of the film, "A Woman's Life" [Competition] is about contentment versus reality. Gabrielle (Lea Drucker) is the head of medical unit operating a high level of surgery while her whole search for meaning seems arbitrary at best despite her hard work. She starts out seemingly a flower in the bush but becomes a much bigger driving force in terms of her journey (or perception of her journey) as the narrative moves on. Gabrielle feels exhausted coming home to her second husband where her kids aren't her own. She wants everything to be efficient yet she still wants more...and she doesn't feel that at home. Frida (Melanie Thierry), a novelist, starts shadowing her for a book. Now whether this has to do with seeing the way the other half lives or simply a change in direction, Gabrielle becomes enmeshed in a different way of thinking. Whether it makes her more vulnerable or seasoned is a matter of perspective as well. Thierry plays Frida with a surefire confidence yet impulsiveness as the film moves forward but begins more demure. Gabrielle's current husband seems like he is caught in the crossfire but there is a world weariness that consumes him even while life continues around him. It is not his fault and yet it is. Drucker plays Gabrielle as self assured but it seems it is only a house of cards holding her structure of consistency together. But even in that she has to be accepting as things transpire not quite as she anticipated.

There are two sequences that really ground the film in this way even though they are more bound in a romantic context, think Gina Gershon, in a dance of sorts. The first is in an arts performance which is immersive and yet uses the movement of the two women around each other as a primer. The second is an elongated sequence on a mountain getaway, maybe the Alps where the intention of the seriousness of their lives melts away and there is a calmness. This is where the film really understands itself but it is ultimately because of the environment. Ultimately the resolution of the narrative is simply about melting away and realizing that life is never quite in line with one thinks. But in watching Gabrielle's journey, there is a sense of completion without fruition which may seem a bit besides the point but she will survive. Thierry is interesting because of the way she trans-mutates with Drucker. While this simply might be an approach of self-confidence growing, it nevertheless seems very jarring and deliberate as she surely knows what she is doing. Now whether this personality of just youth asserting itself is an intriguing question. While some earlier scenes border on melodrama, Drucker'S perspective and self-eggrandizing of this woman keeps her on her path. This is why a later dinner scene and consequent aftermath in a car rings much more true. It is because no one is ever one thing despite what the plan is. This also reflects again with films this year that the theme is about trying to find people where they are and not judge them too harshly for their faults. B

By Tim Wassberg