'Portrait of a Lady on Fire' film review: Simmering romance taps into the inequity of options for women
The French romance "Portrait of a Lady on Fire" (opening in additional cities nationwide Feb. 21) harkens back to an era of exquisitely crafted works of cinema - a beautiful work in every sense of the word that stands as one of the great films of 2019.
In short: On an isolated island off the French coast at the end of the eighteenth century, female painter Marianne (Noémie Merlant) is obliged to paint a wedding portrait of Héloïse (Adèle Haenel), a young woman betrothed to an Italian nobleman.
Marianne is given a nearly impossible task: paint an engagement portrait of Héloïse ... but without Héloïse knowing at all. This initial obstacle - trying to covertly paint a detailed portrait based solely on Marianne's ability to memorize Héloïse's features - brings the painter quite secretly into the isolated life of the engaged young woman. It's an elegant way to intimately bring the two women into each other's lives - and it's here where "Portrait" lays the critical foundation for this intimate and beautiful relationship.
The portrait is effectively a death sentence for Héloïse's independence. Completing the portrait seals Héloïse's fate as the intended bride for a man she's never met, for a life she never wanted. Marianne is quite literally haunted by the inevitability of Héloïse's apparent fate. "Portrait" is a nuanced and confidant romance that resists the impulse to reduce the relationship Marianne and Héloïse share to just a series of grand, clichéd sweeping gestures. Marianne and Héloïse share a transfixing bond that is intoxicating and bittersweet.
The core of "Portrait" strikes at the inequities women face on every front. Marianne is an accomplished painter, however, she's forbidden from painting the very same works any man would be able to create. Héloïse was wrested from the life she chose, only to be forced into the life her sister was meant to lead. Her unwed maid, Sophie, is faced with a pregnancy she doesn't want. The film dauntlessly confronts inequity on a fundamental level - choices and dilemmas that men have historically never had to deal with.
In a time when cinema needs more stories from every perspective, the significance of a story told by women, with a nearly all-female cast, about fiercely independent women in a same-sex relationship cannot be understated. Writer-director Céline Sciamma has created a rich cinematic experience whose beauty is only surpassed by its heartwrenching and deeply resonant romance. Cinematographer Claire Mathon ("Atlantics," "Stranger by the Lake") frames each shot as if it were a painting hanging in a gallery.
Final verdict: "Portrait" resonates with the bittersweet sting of ephemeral romance and taps into nearly timeless, fundamental gender inequities that still ring true today.
Score: 5/5
“Portrait of a Lady on Fire” opens in theaters nationwide Feb. 21. This film has a runtime of 119 minutes and is rated R for some nudity and sexuality.
