Lux Aeterna (2019 film)

 

Written and directed by Gaspar Noe, Lux Aeterna is an experimental 51-minute film in which two actresses taking part in a film about witches where things get too real. The film is an unconventional film about a film that is being made about witches where everything goes wrong Starring Charlotte Gainsbourg, Beatrice Dalle, Abbey Lee Kershaw, and Karl Glusman. Lux Aeterna is a chaotic and eerie film by Gaspar Noe.

The film is about actress Beatrice Dalle trying to make a film about witches starring Charlotte Gainsbourg as she is trying to deal with the chaos in the production while she converses with Gainsbourg about witches. It is a film with a simple premise but there is not much plot as it plays into a production going into total chaos with an ending that is just insane in terms of its visuals. Noe’s script would feature text and quotes from filmmakers Carl Theodor Dreyer, Luis Bunuel, and Rainer Werner Fassbinder as it plays into the idea of film as art and their approach to telling the stories about witchcraft. Noe’s script also plays into Dalle and Gainsbourg’s friendship as it opens with them having a conversation while there are those who want to make sure that Dalle gets ousted from the film as it does play into elements of misogyny from her producer and a cinematographer. Even those acting with Gainsbourg are troubled by the production with Abbey Lee Kershaw feeling exploited by men who want to see her nude while another actor in Karl Glusman tries to get actors to onboard for his own project.

Noe’s direction is stylish where it opens with footage of Dreyer’s 1943 film Day of Wrath as it plays into the idea of witchcraft with text from Dreyer about what film should be as a form of art. It then cuts to a scene where it is shot in split-screen where Dalle and Gainsbourg are having a conversation as it is shot inside a studio set with hand-held cameras following the former as she walks through the sets that included a hand-held camcorder where a young man follows her every move. Notably as it plays into a producer trying to do whatever he can to see her fuck up as it is her own film. While Noe does use some wide shots including for the film’s climax, much of Noe’s direction emphasizes on close-up and medium shots with the hand-held cameras often moving around as tracking shots. Noe also plays to this element of chaos where everything does feel intrusive such as scenes of models including Kershaw getting dressed while they are in the nude as there’s a couple of men outside of the window getting a peep which upsets Kershaw.

The film’s climax relates to a scene that Dalle is trying to create which involves three witches being burned at the stake with Gainsbourg and Kershaw playing the witches. Noe would create this sense of tension that would emerge, and it is where the film’s final 10 minutes would be this moment that is terrifying. Before the film even begins, Noe would post a warning for people with epilepsy relating to what they will see as these final ten minutes are something that people with epilepsy should not watch. What happens is total chaos through flickering colors and images that is intense in its overall presentation. Even as its aftermath has this element of dark humor as it relates to a quote from one of the directors that Noe cites for this film. Overall, Noe crafts a disturbing yet entrancing film about two actresses trying to make a film about witchcraft and witch burnings.

Cinematographer Benoit Debie does brilliant work with the film’s cinematography with its array of lighting and flickering lights as it adds to the film’s visual look including some natural interior setting for the scenes at a fireplace where Dalle and Gainsbourg are conversing. Editor Jerome Pesnel does excellent work with the editing as it has some straightforward cuts to play into the suspense along with some jump-cuts for a few bits. Set decorator Samantha Benne does amazing work with the look of the sets in all its artificiality to create the mood of a film set. Sound editor Ken Yasumoto does superb work with the sound in playing up the atmosphere of the set where voices can be heard from afar as well as some of the overlapping dialogue. Music supervisors Steve Bouyer and Pascal Mayer do terrific work in creating film soundtrack that features a lot of music played on locations including classical and electronic music.

The film’s wonderful ensemble cast include some notable small roles and appearances from Maxime Ruiz as the cinematographer who hates Dalle, Yannick Bono as the producer who is hoping to sabotage Dalle, Mica Arganarz as a stand-in for Gainsbourg, Felix Maritaud as an actor on set, Karl Glusman as himself trying to pitch a project for anyone interested, Clara 3000 as another actress on set, and Abbey Lee Kershaw as herself as someone starring in the film while also dealing with men leering at her when she’s nude. The performances of Beatrice Dalle and Charlotte Gainsbourg as fictional versions of themselves are incredible with Dalle as an actress trying to make her first film as a director as she becomes overwhelmed with people trying to sabotage her as well as get her own ideas for her first directorial film. Gainsbourg is the more reserved of the two as someone trying to get ready for the role while also dealing with the chaos on set as well as her family life outside the set.

Lux Aeterna is a remarkable film by Gaspar Noe that features amazing leading performances from Beatrice Dalle and Charlotte Gainsbourg. Along with its simple presentation, gorgeous photography, and sense of chaos as it relates to filmmaking and the idea of witchcraft. It is a film that is not for everyone other than anyone interested in the idea of what goes during a film shoot. Anyone who is epileptic however should not see this for the sake of their own health. In the end, Lux Aeterna is a marvelous film by Gaspar Noe.

Gaspar Noe Films: Carne - I Stand Alone - Irreversible - Enter the Void - Love (2015 film) - Climax - Vortex (2021 film)

Related: Day of Wrath - The Auteurs #48: Gaspar Noe

© thevoid99 2024

2020 Blind Spot Series: Betty Blue

 

Note: The Following is also a contributing piece to the 2020 Edition of Girl Week hosted by Wendell of Dell on Movies.

Based on the novel 37 2 le matin by Philippe Dijan, Betty Blue is the story of an aspiring novelist who meets a young woman in a beach town in France as they engage into a tumultuous and chaotic affair. Written for the screen and directed by Jean-Jacques Beineix, the film is an exploration of a love affair that goes into great extremes as it relates to this easygoing man and this troubled and erratic young woman. Starring Jean-Hughes Anglade, Beatrice Dalle, Gerard Darmon, Consuelo de Haviland, Clementine Celarie, and Jacques Mathou. Betty Blue is a ravishing yet intense film from Jean-Jacques Beineix.

The film is about a tumultuous love affair between a thirty-something man and a 19-year old woman as they meet in a beach town in France as they would endure a relationship filled with many ups and downs as well as one of immense turmoil. It’s a film that explores this relationship of great extremes of a man who is just trying to find himself and wonders if he can make it as a novelist where he meets this young woman who is wild and energetic but also has these intense mood swings when things go wrong. The film’s screenplay by Jean-Jacques Beineix explores this relationship as it is largely told from the perspective of Zorg (Jean-Hughes Anglade) who meets Betty (Beatrice Dalle) at the beach and immediately begin this love affair that is intense with passion and terror with Zorg narrating his own experiences with Betty. Their time at the beach town of Gruissan would be brief as they would travel to Paris and later the French countryside town of Marvejols where they try to find a stable life and opportunities with Zorg hoping to be published by the manuscript Betty had created for him. They would also meet an assortment of people who would drive their relationship to new highs and new lows.

Beineix’s direction has elements of style in the compositions he creates yet there is also something entrancing in his overall presentation as it is shot on these different locations in Gruissan, Paris, and Marvejols as they all represent the wild mood swings of Betty and the journey that she and Zorg would take. Beineix’s wide shots and usage of tracking shots add to the beauty of some of the scenery that includes shots in the beaches of Gruissan to a chase scene at night in the streets of Marvejols as it has something that is gripping and unpredictable. There are also these intimate moments in the film with its usage of close-ups and medium shots as it play into the romance with lots of coverage on full-frontal nudity from both Zorg and Betty as the first scene of the film is the two of them having intense sex where it blurs the line of whether the actors are really doing it or faking it real good.

Beineix also maintains this air of danger as it relates to Betty’s unstable behavior whether it’s her throwing things at the bungalow she and Zorg are staying in or just going after a publisher all because he hated Zorg’s book. The film, in its original 185-minute running time, play into this rollercoaster of a relationship as those who observe Betty and Zorg as it includes people in Paris and Marvejols with the latter trying to do what he can to make Betty happy. The film’s third act is about that search for stability and it would happen for a brief moment until something horrific occurs as it play into chaos as well as the role Betty has for Zorg. Yet, Zorg is intent on trying to save her no matter how impulsive, destructive, and delusional she is in this strange yet whirlwind act of love. Overall, Beineix crafts a riveting and exhilarating film about a love affair between a wannabe writer and his young yet wild girlfriend.

Cinematographer Jean-Francois Robin does incredible work with the film’s cinematography as it is a major highlight of the film with its usage of vibrant colors, stylish shading, low-key lighting, and its approach to naturalism for some of the exterior scenes in the day. Editors Monique Prim and Yves Deschamps, with additional work from Marie-Aimee Debril for its original 185-minute cut, does excellent work with the editing as it is largely straightforward in its approach to drama with some jump-cuts to play into the chaotic elements of the film as well as a few slow-motion shots. Production designer Carlos Conti and set decorator Jacques Leguillon do brilliant work with the look of the bungalow that Zorg and Betty were living in as well as re-painting as well as the other homes they would live into play into the progress of their romance. Costume designer Elisabeth Tavernier does fantastic work with the costumes as it help enhance the film’s look whether it’s a red dress that Betty wears or some of the casual yet colorful clothes that Zorg wears.

Hair/makeup designer Judith Gayo does terrific work with the look of Betty in her wild hairstyle as well as a look that she would sport late in the film. The sound work of Pierre Befve and Dominique Hennequin do superb work with the film’s sound as it help play into the atmosphere in how music is sound on location as well as some of the quieter moments in the film. The film’s music by Gabriel Yared is phenomenal as its mixture of soothing saxophone pieces with elements of strings, circus-like music, and other textures is a major highlight of the film as it help play into the drama and chaos.

The casting by Dominique Besnehard is wonderful as it feature some notable small roles and appearances from Dominique Pinon as a drug dealer Zorg meets in a bathroom, Philippe Laudenbach as a posh publisher that Betty beats up, Claude Confortes as the fat and sleazy bungalows proprietor, Jean-Pierre Bisson as a police commissioner Zorg confers with about his own manuscript that was also rejected by pretentious publishers, and Vincent Lindon as a young police officer in Marvejols who isn’t fond of Zorg at first until he realizes that he means well. Jacques Mathou and Clementine Celarie are superb in their respective roles as the husband-and-wife team of Bob and Annie with the former being a friendly markets owner trying to help them out while the latter is a sex-starved woman trying to seduce Zorg every way she can. Consuelo de Haviland is excellent as Betty’s friend Lisa who owns a hotel in Paris where she allows Betty and Zorg to stay for a bit while trying to help Betty any way she can. Gerard Darmon is brilliant as Eddy as Lisa’s boyfriend who owns a pizzeria as he helps Zorg out with publishers while later taking Zorg and Betty to Marvejols for his own reasons as he gives them a new home.

Finally, there’s the duo of Jean-Hughes Anglade and Beatrice Dalle in phenomenal performances in their respective roles as Zorg and Betty. Anglade’s performance has him be this man that is easy-going but also frustrated at times where he escapes through having a good time and drinking yet is also troubled by Betty’s mood swings as it is low-key at times but also has moments of humor. Dalle’s performance as the titular character is a debut performance that is unforgettable in terms of not just this air of charisma and energy but also in displaying this pain and anguish this young woman is dealing with. Even as she would do some violent actions to others as well as herself where there is something dangerous in what Dalle does yet it adds so much to everything she’s doing as she and Anglade also have this chemistry that is just riveting to watch.

Betty Blue is a tremendous film from Jean-Jacques Beineix that features great performances from Jean-Hughes Anglade and Beatrice Dalle. Along with its ravishing visuals, Gabriel Yared’s intoxicating score, themes of love at its most extreme, supporting cast, and its gorgeous locations. The film is definitely a love story that doesn’t play by the rules nor does it shy away from its display of sex and violence as well as its exploration of mental illness and searching for meaning through love. In the end, Betty Blue is an outstanding film from Jean-Jacques Beineix.

Jean-Jacques Beineix Films: (Diva (1981 film)) – (Moon in the Gutter) – (Roselyn et les lions) – (Les Enfants de Roumanie) – (IP5: L’ile aux pachydermes) – (Otaku: fils de l’empire du virtuel) – (Place Cichy sans complexe) – (Assigne a residence) – (Mortel transfert)

© thevoid99 2020

Night on Earth

Written and directed by Jim Jarmusch, Night on Earth is a collection of five stories set in five different cities all over the world where a taxi driver and a passenger would engage in various conversations during their brief time together. The film has Jarmusch going into various places with different actors in each city to explore the dynamic between passenger and driver. With an all-star cast that includes Winona Ryder, Gena Rowlands, Armin Mueller-Stahl, Giancarlo Esposito, Rosie Perez, Issach de Bankole, Beatrice Dalle, Roberto Benigni, Paolo Bonacelli, and Matti Pellonpaa. Night on Earth is an extraordinary yet hypnotic film from Jim Jarmusch.

In Los Angeles, tomboy cab driver Corky (Winona Ryder) picks up the rich casting agent Victoria Snelling (Gena Rowlands) at an airport on their way to Beverly Hills. During the ride, the two women discuss the fallacies of men and their differences as Victoria reveals to have night blindness while Corky aspires to be a mechanic. In New York City, a man named YoYo (Giancarlo Espositio) is trying to get a ride to Brooklyn as he gets a cab driver in an East German circus clown named Helmut Grokenberger (Armin Mueller-Stahl). Unfortunately, it’s Helmut’s first day as he doesn’t know the city nor how to drive as YoYo takes over where the two talk while picking up YoYo’s brash sister-in-law Angela (Rosie Perez).

It’s late at night in Paris as a frustrated cab driver (Issach de Bankole) had just been dealing with a couple of awful passengers (Pascal N’Zonzi and Emile Abossolo M‘bo) as he takes a blind woman (Beatrice Dalle). During the ride, the driver is fascinated by the blind woman as she reveals that she can still do things despite her blindness. In Rome, the talkative Gino (Roberto Benigni) wears sunglasses during the late night as he picks up an ailing priest (Paolo Bonacelli). During the ride, Gino reveals his many sins which overwhelms the priest. In Helsinki, Mika (Matti Pellonpaa) picks up three passengers (Kari Vaananen, Sakari Kuosmanen, and Tomi Salmela) where one of them has just had the worst day of life as Mika tells them a story that moves the two awake passengers.

The idea of a taxi as far as a driver and passenger is concerned is this. Driver takes the passenger on a ride. Passenger tells the driver to its desired location. Driver does that and once the destination is reached, driver gets paid and the passenger is at its desired location. Yet in a world as glorious as this, a simple cab drive could be something more as Jim Jarmusch creates five different stories in five different worlds with several different people in different situations. All in different races, nationalities, age groups, and personalities as Jarmusch creates something is truly engaging in the stories that are told.

In each segment of the film, there is something happening between passenger and driver where they all get something out of this little moment in their lives. For the L.A. segment, two different women bond over their frustration towards men along with their different lifestyles. In the NYC segment, an East-German man becomes fascinated by the city and the two people he meets as it’s a great sense of discovery on his first day as a taxi driver. In Paris, a man from the Ivory Coast is fascinated by this blind woman as he seems uninterested in what he’s doing. The segment in Rome has a very talkative man who drives very fast as he ends up overwhelming an ill priest that is strange dark comedy as it’s one of the strangest. The last segment in Helsinki has a driver taking in three passengers where he reveals to them a sad story that reveals that there’s always something worse from happening.

The script that Jarmusch creates is very loose as each segment is given enough time to develop the relationships and the stories told in these segments. In his direction, Jarmusch goes for the same kind of compositions of each segment to capture the driver and passengers with the camera always in front of the car. Yet, he also brings something different to the look and tone of each segment as some are light-hearted while some can seem grim and entrancing. Jarmusch keeps each segment and fresh so each can bring something different to the table. The film and each segment is preceded with a shot of five clocks where the camera zooms towards the clock with the city’s name above and a globe to reveal where what city is to be told.

Throughout the entirety of the film, each segment opens with a look of the city at night in a montage and a cab to introduce the driver, with the exception of the NYC segment, for each segment. During the entirety of the segments, shots of the cities at night are taken place to reveal what locations the driver and passengers are at. The overall approach to Jarmusch’s direction is very stylish yet intimate portrait of an entire night on earth in five different cities with different people musing about the world around them. What Jarmusch creates is a truly exciting and entertaining film that is unconventional yet engrossing in its simplicity.

Cinematographer Frederick Elmes does a wonderful job with the film‘s colorful cinematography from the evening look early in the Los Angeles airport scene to the colorful lights in New York and Los Angeles. Elmes’ work adds a wonderful beauty to the cities with blue lights for the Paris and Helsinki scenes to more intimate settings for the scenes in Rome. Editor Jay Rabinowitz does a great job with creating some stylish cuts for the film while maintaining a fascinating rhythm for many of the conversation scenes that occur in the film. Rabinowitz also keeps a tight pace for each segment at around 20-25 minutes in total to bring enough moments for each story.

Sound designer Anthony J. Ciccolini III does an excellent job with the sound to capture the differing atmospheres of each city along with the intimacy of the cab conversations between the characters in the film. The film’s music by Tom Waits is superb as it is a wonderful mix of jazz and folk that includes different instruments to play to each city. Featuring a few songs written by Waits and wife Kathleen Brennan, Waits score is definitely a highlight of the film as the rest of the soundtrack includes additional music pieces from Davie Allan and Blue Cheer for the L.A. segment.

The big ensemble cast is truly magnificent as each segment provides something different for the film. In very small roles include Lisanne Falk as a manager for band that Corky had brought in the L.A. segment while Pascal N’Zonzi and Emile Abossolo M‘bo are good as the two passengers who annoy the driver in the Paris segment. In the Helsinki scenes, Tomi Salmela is good as the drunk passenger who is passed out while Kari Vaananen and Sakari Kuosmanen are excellent as the other passengers who starts to befriend the cab driver Mika following his story. Matti Pellonpaa is amazing as Mika, the Helsinki cab driver who maintains a stoic approach to his performance as he holds his emotions together during the drive. Paolo Bonacelli is wonderful as the ailing priest who is forced to listen to his driver’s confessions while Roberto Benigni is hilarious as the talkative Gino whose confessed sins prove to be too much in an otherwise dark but funny segment.

Beatrice Dalle is brilliant as the blind passenger who can feel things around her despite her blindness while Issach de Bankole is superb as the quiet driver who is fascinated by the presence of his blind passenger. Rosie Perez is very funny as the brash Angela who spouts all sorts of profanities towards her brother-in-law while being a bit nice towards Helmut. Giancarlo Esposito is also funny but charming as YoYo who tries to help Helmut about being a cab driver and showing him New York City while Armin Mueller-Stahl is phenomenal as the East German cab driver on his first day in amazement on the world around him. Winona Ryder and Gena Rowlands are spectacular as the two different women in L.A. who share their disgust about men while bonding over their differences in low-key but fun performances.

Night on Earth is a fascinating yet magical film from Jim Jarmusch. Armed with a diverse yet exhilarating ensemble cast of actors and in five different locations. It’s a film that truly chronicles the idea of how big the world is and despite the different nationalities, races, genders, and personalities shown in the film. These characters all will have a brief experience that is profound in a world as vast as this one. In the end, Jim Jarmusch creates a lively yet exciting film with Night on Earth.

Jim Jarmusch Films: Permanent Vacation - Stranger Than Paradise - Down By Law - Mystery Train - Dead Man - Year of the Horse - Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai - Coffee and Cigarettes - Broken Flowers - The Limits of Control - Only Lovers Left Alive - Paterson - Gimme Danger - The Dead Don’t Die - (Father Mother Sister Brother) - The Auteurs #27: Jim Jarmusch

© thevoid99 2011

Clean

Originally Written and Posted at Epinions.com on 5/17/08.

French director Olivier Assayas is known for his prolific styles of filmmaking whether its exploring teen angst, film satire, mystery, or straightforward drama. Assayas is considered to be one of France's premier directors of the 1990s and so on as he also admitted to his appreciation towards Asian cinema. In 1998, he married Hong Kong actress Maggie Cheung whom he has collaborated with in 1996's Irma Vep. Yet in 2001, the couple divorced though their relationship was still amicable for their 2004 collaboration in the drug abuse drama Clean.

Written and directed by Olivier Assayas, Clean tells the story of a former video jockey whose relationship with a musician takes a troubling turn as they succumb to drug addiction. Upon a tragic moment where she is discovered with heroin, she goes to jail, loses custody of her child, and then tries to redeem herself while trying to pursue a career as a singer. With Maggie Cheung in the leading role, the film is an exploration of addiction and redemption. Also starring Nick Nolte, Beatrice Dalle, Jeanne Balibar, Don McKellar, Martha Henry, James Johnston of Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds, James Dennis, and Emily Haines. Clean is a harrowing yet provocative film from Olivier Assayas on redemption.

Emily Wang (Maggie Cheung) for several years has been trying to help her lover musician Lee Hauser (James Johnston) as his music career is at an all-time low. With no deal and all the connections running out, they turn to their already troubling addiction to heroin. With their son Jay (James Dennis) living in Vancouver with Lee's parents Albrecht (Nick Nolte) and Rosemary (Martha Henry), Lee and Emily are still struggling. When one of their friends in Vernon (Don McKellar) has an offer to help Lee with a deal, Emily turns it down as Vernon along with the band Metric led by Emily Haines believe that Emily is the reason for Lee's decline. Following an argument about drugs and their troubling lifestyle, Emily walks out of their motel room as she does heroin in their car where she passes out. The next morning as she wakes up, police arrive where she learns that Lee had died of an overdose while she was arrested for possession.

When Albrecht and Rosemary hears the news of Lee's death, they're distraught as Albrecht is now dealing with Lee's estate as well as what's left of his music career. Emily is sent to prison for six months as Albrecht and Vernon handle Lee's business. Following her release, Emily meets Albrecht as she reveals she's on methadone as Albrecht asks if she stays away from Jay for a while. Emily moves to Paris to begin a new life though her methadone intake has taken a toll. After meeting Jean-Pierre (Remi Martin), she tries to get him to send a letter to one of Lee’s old friends Tricky as she reconnects with her old friend Elena (Beatrice Dalle). Emily reveals she's made demos of music with a friend named Gloria (Jodi Crawford) as Elena listens where she helps her get contact with a former employer named Irene Paolini (Jeanne Balibar). After being snubbed by Irene, she finds comfort in Irene's lover Sandrine (Laetitia Spigarelli) who had been a fan of Emily in her old days as a video jockey.

Still working a Chinese restaurant, Irene finally meets with her but the conversation goes nowhere as she moves in with Elena while getting a job selling clothes. Meanwhile in London, Albrecht and Jay accompany Rosemary for treatment as she had fallen ill. With Albrecht concerned for Rosemary's health and Jay's well-being, he realizes that the boy has to be with his mother no matter what Rosemary had told Jay about her. With Emily now clean and no longer on methadone, she becomes more determined to clean herself fully for her son. When Albrecht decides to go to Paris with Jay for a visit, Emily is ecstatic to see her son until a call from Gloria where she revealed to have gotten some sessions with David Roback of Mazzy Star in San Francisco. Unsure of what to do, she decides to see Jay, though he is reluctant to see her where she turns to Albrecht for help about what to do where he gives her a choice to think about her own future as well as her future with Jay.

Assayas' eerie yet moody take on a woman's journey from rock bottom to redemption is truly mesmerizing as his script reveals the affect of the death of this man and how his lover is trying to find ways to redeem herself in front of her son and her father-in-law. The film has an added subplot that involves Albrecht and how he's trying to deal things where unlike his wife who blames Emily for her son's death. Albrecht is aware that Lee is at fault for his own actions and is willing to forgive Emily for her own actions. While the screenplay is superb, it's the direction of Olivier Assayas that is spellbinding. With dreamy images, intimate settings, and observant camera, it's clear that Assayas is creating a film, though harsh and unsettling, that is all about mood as he unveils a harrowing portrait of redemption where the ending is complex yet emotional.

Cinematographer Eric Gautier adds a wonderful moodiness with his camera that includes stark colors for the film’s eerie, exterior settings in the daytime scenes in Canada, Paris, and London. The nighttime scenes in Paris are more colorful including some great interior shots with different array of colors. Gautier's photography is superb in every frame as he captures the tone of each scene in the film. Editor Luc Barnier does wonderful work in the film's editing with the use of jump-cuts and fade-outs to add a unique rhythm and style to the film. Production designers William Fleming and Francois-Renaud Labarthe do superb work in the different location and settings for the film as well as the French apartments that Emily visits. Costume designer Anais Roman does nice work with the costumes that range from rock-star like clothing to more casual, street clothing to convey the mood of the characters throughout the film. Sound designers Roman Dymny, Nicolas Moreau, and Daniel Sorbino add to the film's moodiness with on location sound work for the streets as well as the concert scenes shown.

Music composer David Roback of the Rain Parade and Mazzy Star brings a dreamy, moody score to the film while contributing original songs that are sung by Maggie Cheung herself. Additional contributions for the film's soundtrack comes from Tricky, Luna's Dean Wareham and Britta Phillips, Joey Ramone, and a lot of cuts from Brian Eno in his various periods including his collaborations with David Byrne, Daniel Lanois, and Roger Eno. The music of Brian Eno works to convey the melancholia of Emily's character as it's used greatly.

The cast is truly superb with an array of appearances from David Roback, the band Metric led by Emily Haines of Broken Social Scene, and Tricky as himself. James Johnston of Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds is excellent as Lee Hauser, a struggling musician who is having problems with Emily that would lead to his own death. Jodi Crawford is good in her brief role as Emily's music collaborator Gloria while Laetitia Spigarelli is also good as Irene's secretary/girlfriend Sandrine who is a big fan of Emily in her old VJ days. Remi Martin is fine in his role as Emily’s old friend Jean-Pierre who helps her give a letter to Tricky while Don McKellar is superb as Lee's friend Vernon who handles his affairs after his death while giving Emily her cut. Jeanne Balibar is excellent as Emily's former employer Irene who seems to be unhelpful as she has become disenchanted with everything only to conform to corporate leanings.

James Dennis is great as Jay, the little boy who is unaware about his mother only to be told lies about her as he tries to figure out why she wasn't there for him. Martha Henry is good as Rosemary, an ill woman who is so heartbroken over her son's death, she couldn't bear but to hate Emily for what happened to her son. Beatrice Dalle is excellent in a supporting role as Elena, an old friend who helps out Emily while giving her a home and guidance on what she has to do for her career. The film's best supporting performance truly goes to Nick Nolte as Albrecht, Lee's father who provides a sense of wisdom and support for Emily as he helps her try to redeem herself as his character is the one with a huge conscience and the one with moral value.

The film's best performance truly goes to Maggie Cheung who would win the Best Actress prize at the 2004 Cannes Film Festival for this film. Cheung's performance is magnificent from start to finish as she speaks English, French, and a variation of Chinese in the film as she plays a woman who is very flawed and then, tries to redeem herself. Though Cheung's beauty is definitely striking to watch, it's how she sells herself through the performance where the result is truly raw and also unsettling. Cheung also display subtlety to some heavy emotional scenes as she restrains herself in the performance while also displaying greater talent in her singing that is true to the film's mood. If there's one real highlight of this film, it's Maggie Cheung.

Clean is a harrowing yet engrossing film from Olivier Assayas led by the sprawling performance of Maggie Cheung. Fans of the work of Assayas and Cheung will no doubt consider this as essential while the film also includes an amazing supporting turn from Nick Nolte. While the film might be harrowing, it's subject matter is truly universal while both Assayas and Cheung create a film that is accessible yet arty. In the end, Clean is gratifying film that shows a woman's attempt to seek redemption for her actions and trying to find a new hope.

Olivier Assayas Films: (Disorder) - (Winter’s Child) - (Paris Awakens) - (A New Life) - (Cold Water) - (Irma Vep) - (Late August, Early September) - (Sentimental Destinies) - (Demonlover) - (Boarding Gate) - Summer Hours - Carlos - (Something in the Air) - Clouds of Sils Maria - Personal Shopper

© thevoid99 2011