Starring Jean-Louis Trintignant, Emmanuelle Riva
Directed by Michael Haneke
Michael Hanekes detractors will probably consider it rather appropriate that the writer-director opens his latest film with a shot of a battering ram given thats hes been emotionally pummelling audiences for years.
Could it be that the celebrated Austrian provocateur responsible for the button-pushing likes of Funny Games and The White Ribbon is actually offering his critics a free shot at him?
After all, the uncharacteristically compassionate narrative that follows certainly indicates that hes in a more charitable mood than weve come to expect.
Forcing their way into the Paris apartment belonging to octogenarians Georges (Jean-Louis Trintignant) and Anne (Emmanuelle Riva), the police discover one of them dead. Consequently, as we flash back several months, we know precisely how this tale will end for one spouse.
However, Haneke isnt after a sense of mystery here. Rather, he infuses the proceedings with a sense of inevitability as he illustrates how many of us will experience our final days. In turn, he keenly examines how the passage of time reshapes a relationship, transforming it into an expression of responsibility rather than romance.
Trintignant and Riva, titans of French cinema whose careers stretch back to the 1950s, both capably convey their characters fierce determination to retain their dignity as they deteriorate both physically and mentally.
And while their performances are undeniably brave and wholly moving, there remains the unshakeable sense that Haneke, ever the manipulator, is still very much playing the puppet master here.
Only, on this occasion, hes chosen to pull at our heartstrings.
