Clouds of Sils Maria (MA). Director: Olivier Assayas. Starring: Juliet Binoche, Kristen Stewart, Chloë Grace Moretz. 124 minutes
Time for me to eat my words. A glance through my back catalogue of reviews for Eureka Street reveals that not once but twice have I disparaged Kristen Stewart's abilities as an actor. Challenge me on this in conversation and I'd have qualified it by saying that I like her as an actor — that she has charisma, but as far as I can tell not much range or depth, at least on the evidence of her career to date.
While I stand by my assessment of those performances, I freely admit that my doubts about her potential sold her short. Her latest film, French filmmaker Olivier Assayas' Clouds of Sils Maria, is a masterpiece of character-driven drama, and Stewart's performance is a large part of its success. It is no coincidence that she won a prestigious César Award for it, the first American woman to do so.
The film stars Juliet Binoche as Maria Enders, a famous stage and film actor who finds herself cast in a new production of the play that kick-started her career 20 years ago. The play, Maloja Snake, explores the tempestuous relationship between a businesswoman, Helena, and her much younger assistant, Sigrid. Back then, Maria played Sigrid. Now, she is to portray the older woman, Helena.
With her own assistant, Valentine (Stewart) in tow, Maria retreats to a house at Sils Maria in the Swiss Alps, to prepare. Valentine is a skilful, dedicated assistant, whose intelligent views on the play's themes and subtext, and on contemporary culture generally, do not always sit well with Maria. But if age puts distance between them, the space is bridged by mutual affection and often-fiery camaraderie.
Working with Assayas' fine script, Stewart — a chameleon in big glasses and daggy-chic clothes — is a revelation alongside the proven talent of Binoche. The two actors plumb the depths of Valentine and Maria's rich internal lives and deconstruct their compelling and psychologically complex relationship. Are they merely employer-employee, or are they friends, would-be lovers, or pseudo-mother-and-daughter? Or is there a more sinister dynamic at play? There is enough going on behind the eyes and in the carefully studied gestures of both women to suggest that any or all of these could be the case.
In a further turn of the screw, the film contains numerous scenes in which Maria and Valentine run lines