Review: Clouds of Sils Maria

Time has never been a friend to actresses, who are far more vulnerable to its passage than their male counterparts. Youth is prized above all else, leaving the more mature to perhaps cling a little too tightly to the appearance of juvenescence for as long as possible. The Europeans, particularly the French, have been kinder to their actresses, nurturing their longevity with roles that celebrate their talents and acknowledge their seasoned beauty. Yet one has to wonder when looking at the current crop of actresses whether any of them can sustain a career like a Catherine Deneuve, Isabelle Huppert, Jeanne Moreau, Meryl Streep, Helen Mirren, or Maggie Smith.

Olivier Assayas' latest film Clouds of Sils Maria ponders this topic along with a slightly satirical look at the shifting playing field of celebrity culture. It also serves as an unabashed valentine to the art of acting and how performers weave their realities into the fiction. The story concerns a decision made by actress Maria Enders (Juliette Binoche) - a famous international actress who has appeared in both European films and Hollywood blockbusters, much like Binoche herself - who has reluctantly agreed to star in a stage revival of Majola Snake, the play that catapulted her to stardom when she was 18 years old.

The play revolved around two women - an older businesswoman obsessed with and driven to suicide by the much younger Sigrid, whom Maria essayed. Having found an emotional connection with Sigrid, Maria is beset with insecurities about being cast as Helen. To understand and relate to the character means confronting her own age and mortality, which Maria is admittedly unwilling to do. "I've always identified with [Sigrid's] freedom, it's a way of protecting myself," she reveals to the play's director Klaus (Lars Eidinger).

Compounding her anxieties is American actress Jo-Ann Ellis (Chloë Grace Moretz), the talented tabloid darling who's been cast as Sigrid. Though skeptical of Jo-Ann's ability and commitment, Maria seeks to understand the secret of her appeal after Val (Kristen Stewart), Maria's extremely reliable personal assistant, extols Jo-Ann's virtues and praises her willingness to delve into her characters even if the character happens to be a mutant superhero. "There's no less truth in a supposedly superior film," Val argues.

Much of the film is devoted to Maria and Val's ensconcement in the Alps, where they hike and run lines from the play which tend to mirror their own personal dynamic; the text is often interrupted by their subjective commentary on the characters' natures and motivations though they could just as well be talking about themselves. The whole enterprise is deceptively straightforward, belying the Inception-like levels on which the film operates.

Assayas has long loved his actresses, directing them with both an admiration and scrupulousness that elicits natural, complex, and thoughtful performances. Witness former wife Maggie Cheung in Irma VEP and Clean, Virginie Ledoyen in L'eau froide and Late August, Early September, Emmanuelle Béart in Les destinées, Connie Nielsen in Demonlover, and Asia Argento in Boarding Gate. Cloud of Sils Maria's triumverate do not disappoint. Moretz disarms before revealing a ruthless cunning. Stewart compels and more than holds her own against the ever magnificent Binoche. Their pas de deux is a study in contrasts, both in generation and acting styles; an embodiment of Maria's fears that the more conventional Helen and her acting style will be shunted aside by the more modern spontaneity of Sigrid and Jo-Ann. Assayas and his leading ladies prove there's room for everyone, that no one technique is necessarily better than the other, and that generations should be inspired by one another.

Clouds of Sils Maria

Directed by: Olivier Assayas

Written by: Olivier Assayas

Starring: Juliette Binoche, Kristen Stewart, Chloë Grace Moretz, Lars Eidinger, Johnny Flynn, Angela Winkler, Hanns Zischler