Rust and Bone [De Rouille et d'Os]

"Essential"

Rust and Bone [De Rouille et d'Os] Review


Marion Cotillard delivers another raw, devastating performance in this beautifully made drama about two badly damaged people who adapt to a new life together. After 2009's award-winning A Prophet, director-cowriter Audiard delivers an equally complex but strikingly different film, centring on complex, conflicting emotions and characters who are so messy that they feel jarringly real.

It starts in Belgium, as Alain (Schoenaerts) takes his 5-year-old son Sam (Verdure) and moves to the French Riviera to live with his sister (Masiero) and her husband (Correia). With his burly physique, he easily finds work as a nightclub bouncer, and one night he meets the sexy Stephanie (Cotillard), who trains orcas at a local aquarium. Then she has a terrible accident at work that leaves her disabled, and their unlikely friendship begins to develop in unexpected ways. He seems uniquely able to see past her physical issues, while she begins to understand his deep desire to be a bare-knuckle fighter. But neither has the skills to help heal each others' emotional scars.

In more obvious filmmakers' hands, this would be a heartwarming tale of two lost souls falling in love and giving each other hope. But Audiard resists sentimentality at every turn, never giving into romantic cliches while packing the story with scenes that catch us off guard simply because they are so startlingly unlike normal movie plot points. Alain and Stephanie don't so much help each other as provide a safe space in which to recover. And along the way, Audiard explores them like rust and bone, broken down by years of decay and injury. But of course, bone sometimes heals to be stronger than it was before.

The script is cleverly understated, constantly catching us off guard and forcing us to think about each scene while Audiard's cameras refuse to flinch away from the difficult moments. Both Cotillard and Schoenaerts manage to be both likeable and prickly, transparently revealing their characters through both physicality and emotion. And it's stunningly shot and scored too, with a very clever use of pop songs (we'll never hear Katy Perry's Firework in quite the same way again). And in the end, the film leaves us both exhilarated and shaken to the core.

Rich Cline

 

 



Facts and Figures

Genre: Foreign

Production compaines: Why Not Productions, Les Films Du Fleuve, France 2 Cinéma, Page 114, Radio Télévision Belge Francophone (RTBF), Lumière, Lunanime, Canal+, Ciné+, France Télévisions, Centre du Cinéma et de l'Audiovisuel de la Fédération Wallonie-Bruxelles, VOO, Vlaams Audiovisueel fonds, Région Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur, Département des Alpes-Maritimes, Casa Kafka Pictures Movie Tax Shelter Empowered by Dexia

Reviews

Contactmusic.com: 5 / 5

Cast & Crew

Director:

Producer: , Martine Cassinelli,

Starring: as Stephanie, as Ali, Bouli Lanners as Martial, Céline Sallette as Louise, Corinne Masiero as Anna, Mourad Frarema as Foued, Jean-Michel Correia as Richard, Armand Verdure as Sam, Yannick Choirat as Simon, Fred Menut as Le patron d'ELP Sécurité, Duncan Versteegh as Soigneur d'orques, Katia Chaperon as Soigneuse d'orques, Catherine Fa as Soigneuse d'orques, Françoise Michaud as La mère de Stéphanie

Contactmusic


Links


New Movies

Star Wars: The Last Jedi Movie Review

Star Wars: The Last Jedi Movie Review

After the thunderous reception for J.J. Abrams' Episode VII: The Force Awakens two years ago,...

Daddy's Home 2 Movie Review

Daddy's Home 2 Movie Review

Like the 2015 original, this comedy plays merrily with cliches to tell a silly story...

The Man Who Invented Christmas Movie Review

The Man Who Invented Christmas Movie Review

There's a somewhat contrived jauntiness to this blending of fact and fiction that may leave...

Ferdinand Movie Review

Ferdinand Movie Review

This animated comedy adventure is based on the beloved children's book, which was published in...

Brigsby Bear Movie Review

Brigsby Bear Movie Review

Director Dave McCary makes a superb feature debut with this offbeat black comedy, which explores...

Battle of the Sexes Movie Review

Battle of the Sexes Movie Review

A dramatisation of the real-life clash between tennis icons Billie Jean King and Bobby Riggs,...

Shot Caller Movie Review

Shot Caller Movie Review

There isn't much subtlety to this prison thriller, but it's edgy enough to hold the...

Advertisement
The Disaster Artist Movie Review

The Disaster Artist Movie Review

A hilariously outrageous story based on real events, this film recounts the making of the...

Stronger Movie Review

Stronger Movie Review

Based on a true story about the 2013 Boston Marathon bombing, this looks like one...

Only the Brave Movie Review

Only the Brave Movie Review

Based on a genuinely moving true story, this film undercuts the realism by pushing its...

Wonder Movie Review

Wonder Movie Review

This film may be based on RJ Palacio's fictional bestseller, but it approaches its story...

Happy End  Movie Review

Happy End Movie Review

Austrian auteur Michael Haneke isn't known for his light touch, but rather for hard-hitting, award-winning...

Patti Cake$ Movie Review

Patti Cake$ Movie Review

Seemingly from out of nowhere, this film generates perhaps the biggest smile of any movie...

The Limehouse Golem Movie Review

The Limehouse Golem Movie Review

A Victorian thriller with rather heavy echoes of Jack the Ripper, this film struggles to...

Advertisement
Artists
Actors
    Filmmakers
      Artists
      Bands
        Musicians
          Artists
          Celebrities
             
              Artists
              Interviews