ViewGuide

Created Jan 30, 2013 10:05PM PST • Edited Jan 06, 2019 02:09AM PST

1. Quality

2. Summary

   Great 4.0

   The good news about Rust and Bone is that it’s not about an orca trainer’s accident. It’s about her recovery. In any case, hers is only half the story, the rest being about an oafish stud with a small child in tow. What happens to father and son is tougher to take than what happens to her – bloodier and more heartrending. Their intersecting stories make for a compelling movie, one that’s intriguingly complex at a human interest level and very engaging at an emotional one.

   Marion Cotillard has received tremendous praise for her performance as the Seaworld-like performer who loses her legs in a horrific orca accident. The only cast member known to Americans, she would make the movie worth seeing even if this queen of French actresses were unknown on our shores.

   Then there’s the matter of Rust and Bone’s sensationalism, which channels the orca tragedy at Seaworld Florida as the driver for an entire movie. Fortunately it treats those magnificent mammals with respect bordering on reverence. The scene where Cotillard communes with an orca as if neither glass nor species separates them is one of the most beautiful human-animal dances ever committed to cinema, punctuated by the seagoing mammal blowing an inspired column of bubbles and nodding its torpedo head. The nearby image captures a frozen moment.

   Both the movie and its star actress have captured awards around the planet, deservedly so. Orca lovers and fans of offbeat love stories will find Rust and Bone a great viewing experience.

4. Acting

   Great 4.0

   Marion Cotillard’s acting is superlative. We even see the color come back to her cheeks as she comes back to life following the orca accident. Two notable trivia points from IMDb: She enjoyed the sex scenes for the first time in her career; and she made Rust and Bone while also shooting The Dark Knight Rises.

   Matthias Schoenaerts ably plays a studly guy who’s self-centered and not so smart. He’s not that interesting of a character, but is surrounded by interesting characters who depend on him: his son, sister and girlfriend. Schoenaerts fills that vacuum well.

   • Armand Verdure is touching and nuanced as his five year old son.
   • Corinne Masiero injects a strong note of realism as his haggard sister.

5. Male Stars Very Good 3.5

6. Female Stars Perfect 5.0

7. Female Costars Great 4.0

8. Male Costars Great 4.0

10. Film

    Great 4.0

    Jacques Audiard’s film is taken from a couple of short stories by Canadian writer Craig Davidson, an Anglo. While manipulative, it’s also deeply affecting and contains more than a few grace notes.

    It’s also thought-provoking about the wisdom of using orcas for entertainment, showing the risks and suggesting the inhumanity, while also portraying the profound appeal.

    Audiard’s film benefits in particular from excellent editing, with no scene going on too long. Given that one of the central characters is a fighter, this tightly edited film is like a bunch of jabs. Pow, pop, pow.

11. Direction Really Great 4.5

12. Play Very Good 3.5

13. Music Really Great 4.5

14. Visuals Perfect 5.0
15. Content

16. Edge

    Sordid 2.6

    The stud brings the crippled woman back to life through a fair amount of sexual healing. Nor is he parsimonious with his sexual attentions. Several hot girls catch his eye and he theirs, after which they enjoy a quickie. Even in France, this is apparently a bit outrageous.

    The movie’s violence comes largely from the back alley MMA fights the hero engages in. OTOH, the horrific orca accident isn’t really shown, only its aftermath.

    Finally, a sweet little boy is shown in harm’s way due to his father’s unacceptable behavior. Heartrending.

17. Sex Erotic 2.6

18. Violence Brutal 2.7

19. Rudeness Salty 2.4

21. Reality

    Glib 1.5

    Movie reality aside, two sets of actual reality observations.

    First, I love marine mammal shows and was fortunate to see the one at Seaworld Orlando featuring Tilikum, the massive orca who later killed a trainer. While there is a clear case to not have these mammals in captivity for our enjoyment, they are both transcendentally enjoyable to watch and do foster an appreciation for their species. Tilikum, in particular, was stupefyingly massive when he swam out and overwhelmingly powerful when he used his flukes to heave water on those of us in the first ten rows. It made for a terrific father-son experience and one that I sensed created an inter-species bond between most of the audience towards the orcas.

    Second, the movie’s final dramatic turn springs from French workers rebelling over their employer using a video camera to protect against employee theft. Apparently this is illegal in France. Why would it be? There should be no presumption of privacy on the job, especially when inventory is involved.

    No wonder the French economy is struggling.

    French workers may be free from surveillance, but they’re also increasingly free from jobs.

22. Circumstantial Glib 1.7

23. Biological Glib 1.8

24. Physical Natural 1.0