Dir/Wri: Nora Jaenicke | Fanny Ardant, Joanna Kulig | Drama 91’
French actress Fanny Ardant is the star of this psychological drama set on the island of Elba. But not even she can save the vapid story which remains enigma until the end.
Ardant makes a striking appearance as Ada arriving at a remote villa to take care of the bed-bound older husband of Joanna (Kulig), a mysterious woman who is trapped by her situation, a husband she no longer loves and ambivalent feelings for a shady Italian lover (Rosetti) who Ada immediately mistrusts, and for good reason, we later discover.
There are some stunning opening aerial drone shots of an island in the Italian Mediterranean but most of the film takes place in the confines of the gorgeous villa where the two women feel strangely out of sync in their efforts to bond and clearly Joanna is looking for a way out: Ada’s warmth and understanding leaves Joanna cool and aloof and we remain as unsure as she is of her motivations or her intentions in life.
So despite the magnetic screen charisma of Fanny Ardant the threadbare script is not powerful enough to allow her to bring about a convincing emotional awakening in her young employer who comes across as a taciturn cypher until the end of the two-handed ’huis clos’ style drama
Sadly Kulig’s performance pales in comparison to her fabulous turn in Pawel Pawlikowski’s 2018 Oscar winner Cold War. Jaenicke has a solid premise but she needs to develop her script and flesh out a drama whose characters, plotting and finale remain baffling and underwhelming. @Meredith Taylor
SCREENING AT TORINO FILM FESTIVAL 2025