First, a
warning: In the French drama I've Loved You So Long, Kristen Scott Thomas plays a woman
who returns to her family after serving a 15-year prison sentence. Many
synopses and reviews for the film (though not this one) will specify why she was sent away, but
writer-director Philippe Claudel holds off on the revealing that piece of
information for quite awhile, and then buries it, elegantly, in a
matter-of-fact line of dialogue. Since the film is otherwise a model of
simplicity in the plotting department, it's best to approach it with a clean
slate, because the major revelations in the story are few and precious. Much
like the recent Rachel Getting Married, Claudel's film grapples perceptively with the depth
of family ties, which have the power to withstand obstacles that
would—and perhaps should—tear any other relationship asunder.
Scott
Thomas has been frequently cast as the personification of upper-crust elegance
and privilege, but from the moment she first appears here, glumly smoking a
cigarette at an airport, it's her modesty that stands out. Having just been
sprung from prison, Scott Thomas seeks refuge with estranged sister Elsa
Zylberstein until she finds a job and can make her own way in the world. The
two haven't really been in contact during Scott Thomas' sentence, and
Zylberstein has trouble bringing her into her family, which includes her
protective husband Serge Hazanavicius, their two adopted Vietnamese daughters,
and her father-in-law (Jean-Claude Arnaud), who went mute after a stroke. There
are obviously very serious trust issues to be established, on top of the challenge
of Scott Thomas becoming a productive member of society.
Despite the
evident tension between the two sisters and between Scott Thomas and
Zylberstein's family, I've Loved You So Long effectively sublimates the drama
until one volcanic eruption towards the end, when everything is laid out on the
table. Claudel's restraint gives the scene tremendous power, even while it also
raises questions about why Scott Thomas chooses to withhold a secret that might
have eased her transition back into the family. Nevertheless, the film deftly
sketches a sibling relationship complicated by obligation, guilt, mistrust,
and, not least, an abiding love.