I've Loved You So Long is a wonderfully delicious French movie, starring Boomer Babe Kristin Scott Thomas (born in 1960!) speaking French like a native and acting up an Oscar-worth storm. And for most of the movie, by the way, appears as if she's wearing no makeup whatsoever (the better to look despairing).
She plays Juliette, a completely-defeated, deadened woman just released from prison for some
unknown (for the moment) but terrible deed. Her younger sister, Lea, is played by the amazingly youthful and lovely Elsa Zylberstein. Born in 1968, she's 40 but could very easily pass for, say, 25. In fact, somebody should write a book called, um, Why French Women Don't Get Old, or something. Lea, married and mother of two adopted, Vietnamese daughters, adores this hollow shell of a sister, whom
she hasn't seen, we eventually find out, for about 15 years. Turns out that Juliette was in prison for killing her six-year-old son.
Ack. Repulsive, right? Well, this is frog cinema, so there are wonderful scenes over cups of coffee in burnished, Amelie-type cafes, and a weekend in the country, featuring rambunctious kids and wine-addled adults, and lush fields. And then, Juliette begins to warm up, turning human again, bit by bit, mostly because her little sister never gives up on her. (WARNING: Bring. Plenty. Of. Tissues!) Finally, in what may or may not be borderline ridiculous, there's a twist at the end. The Reason she did it. Just so we know that Kristin isn't really a monster.
She's no monster, clearly. But she's also a fabulous actress, speaking French or English. Not only that, but she should get an Oscar for this performance, which grabs you by your throat, reaches down your gullet, and rips out your heart.
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