Set in the town of Liege in Belgium, the film revolves around a young doctor who turned away a young girl late one night only to learn that the girl died a day later nearby as she feels responsible for her death. It is a film that explores not just guilt but also a doctor trying to learn who this girl is and why she died as someone was chasing her. The film’s screenplay by Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne has a straightforward narrative yet it is the first script where they flirt with a genre in suspense-mystery as it plays into the journey that Dr. Jenny Davin (Adele Haenel) takes where she had been working all day with her intern Julien (Olivier Bonnaud) at a clinic as it was past closing time is when she refused to open the door even though Julien wanted to help this young girl who was being chased. Upon learning about this girl who died as no one had been able to identify her, Dr. Davin becomes obsessed with as she talks with the police, the previous owner of the clinic she runs, and various locals including some patients if they knew this girl. Even as she also works being a doctor who drives from place to place to help them.
The direction of the Dardenne Brothers is entrancing for not just its simplicity but also in how restrained it is in terms of using hand-held cameras where there is not a lot of shakiness in the camera movements. Shot on location in Liege, the Dardenne Brothers’ direction aims for intimacy in the usage of medium shots and close-ups though there are a few wide shots in the film. Yet, they do maintain this style of cinema verite that gives the film a realistic feel as if they are presenting the film as a documentary but with a polished look. It adds to the sense of realism where the Dardenne Brothers use the locations in Liege to highlight a world that Dr. Davin is going into while also tending to other patients outside of her clinic. The Dardenne Brothers display that despite the poor social standing that Dr. Davin’s clients live in, she will go to them to treat them and such while asking if they know the identity of this young girl she turns away.
The element of suspense and mystery do come into play where Dr. Davin asks one of young patients in Bryan (Louka Minnella) if he knew this girl as he said no at first only to later revealed that he did see her with a friend leading to more revelations about some of the seedy things in town. Notably as she gets some information from both Bryan’s father (Jeremie Renier) and a man who runs an illegal garage though she still does not get this girl’s name. It does play into an underworld of sorts that Dr. Davin must confront though she is not only the person filled with guilt over what happened as there are others who did know this girl but were either afraid to reveal her identity or had a hand in her death. Overall, the Dardenne Brothers craft a gripping yet somber film about a young Belgian doctor dealing with her role in a young girl’s death.
Cinematographer Alain Marcoen does brilliant work with the film’s cinematography as it is straightforward in its natural lighting for many of the daytime interior/exterior scenes as well as some additional lighting for some exterior scenes at night. Editor Marie-Helene Dozo does excellent work with the editing as it is straightforward with shots lingering for more than a few minutes with a few jump-cuts to play into the suspense. Production designer Igor Gabriel, along with set decorators Millie Dardenne and Amanda Petrella plus art director Paul Rouschop, does fantastic work with the interiors of the clinic that Dr. Davin runs as well as the small apartment she lives in above the clinic. Costume designer Maira Ramedhan Levi does terrific work with the costumes as it is straightforward with everyone wearing casual clothing including the coats that they wear as it is set in the fall/winter. Sound editor Benoit De Clerck does nice work with the sound as it is straightforward in capturing everything that is on location as well as the way something sounds like from afar or in another room.
The film’s wonderful ensemble cast feature some notable small roles and appearances from Thomas Doret as a cancer patient of Dr. Davin who wrote a song for her, Marc Zinga as a pimp who threatens Dr. Davin, Jean-Michel Balthazar as a diabetic patient who helps Dr. Davin in trying to find the girl’s identity, Ben Hamidou and Laurent Caron as a couple of police inspectors, Yves Larec as Dr. Davin’s previous boss who tried to help her in identifying the girl through his records, Pierre Sumkay as an old patient in Monsieur Lambert who revealed that he did meet the girl and knows who she is, Myriem Akheddiou as an assistant of a boss of Dr. Davin, Nadege Ouedraogo as a cashier at a cybercafe, Christelle Cornil as Bryan’s mother, and Fabrizio Rongione as Dr. Riga as a boss of Dr. Davin who gave her a job that would help her fund her clinic.
Olivier Gourmet is terrific as Monsieur Lambert’s son who runs a garage where the titular girl had done something in his camper van as the man does not want anyone to know. Louka Minella is superb as Bryan as a young kid with indigestion issues who had seen the girl but knows more to protect a friend of his. Jeremie Renier is excellent as Bryan’s father who also knows the girl but is also secretive into what had happened. Olivier Bonnaud is fantastic as Dr. Davin’s intern Julien who had quit the clinic the day after the news of the girl’s death as he reveals what happened on that day all because of a child who had a seizure. Finally, there’s Adele Haenel in a phenomenal performance as Dr. Jenny Davin as a young woman who works and runs a clinic while also going to various homes to treat patients while dealing with the guilt of turning away a young girl being chased that led to her death. It is a somber yet restrained performance from Haenel who captures not just the sense of guilt in her actions but also trying to understand who this girl is and why did she die as it is one of her finest performances.
La Fille inconnue is a tremendous film from Jean-Pierre & Luc Dardenne that features a great leading performance from Adele Haenel. Along with its ensemble supporting cast, realistic visuals, a simple yet engaging premise, and its unconventional take on suspense and mystery. It is a film that is not just a fascinating study of guilt but also a woman trying to deal with a mistake and rectify it so she can bring peace to herself and those who knew this young girl. In the end, La Fille inconnue is a spectacular film from Jean-Pierre & Luc Dardenne.
Dardenne Brothers Films: (Falsch) – (I Think of You) – La Promesse - Rosetta - Le Fils - L'Enfant - To Each His Own Cinema-Darkness - Lorna's Silence - The Kid with a Bike - Two Days, One Night - Young Ahmed - Tori & Lokita
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Man, I have a big blindspot on Dardenne Brothers. This one sounds great! I have seen Two Days, One Night and that's really good, one of the best performances by Marion Cotillard.
ReplyDelete@Ruth-The Unknown Girl and Young Ahmed are both available right now on MUBI (along with Two Days, One Night) as they have been consistent in the kind of films that they've done as I am eager to see what they will do next.
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