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No matter how strong the bond between a mother and daughter may be, that relationship tends to go through a lot of different phases, facing challenges through the years. The French drama The Truth (La vérité) explores that relationship for two characters who have dealt with one challenge after another throughout their rather turbulent history.
The Truth returns home to Paris with screenwriter Lumir (Juliette Binoche), her actor husband, Hank (Ethan Hawke), and their young daughter as Lumir’s mother, legendary actress Fabienne (Catherine Deneuve), is celebrating the publication of her autobiography. An already strained reunion becomes even more difficult as Lumir reads the book and discovers that it’s nothing but beautiful lies about a life she never lived. And as Lumir accompanies her mother to her latest shoot—a sci-fi film about a distant mother who never ages—she’s forced to come to terms with their difficult relationship.
Through a little bit of drama and plenty of humor, writer/director Hirokazu Koreeda tells a charmingly entertaining story about the complexities of a mother/daughter relationship made even more complicated by fame and fortune. And it ties in nicely to the film within the film—the sci-fi drama that’s so beneath Fabienne.
It doesn’t take long to get a pretty clear picture of why this relationship is strained. Fabienne is not an easy person to like—but she’s definitely an intriguing one. She’s self-centered and egotistical and quick to criticize everyone around her. She never wastes her time considering the feelings or needs of anyone around her—not even the ones closest to her. She’s so dependent on others, yet she fails to mention her long-time assistant and friend in her memoir—even after 40 years of making her tea and managing her schedule and helping her raise her daughter. Still, there are times when she shows the cracks in her façade—the fears and the insecurities hidden behind the hair and the makeup and the movie star smile. And in those moments, Deneuve makes her just a little bit human.
Really, the cast here is unsurprisingly remarkable. Deneuve and Binoche play off each other well, and though Hawke generally remains in the background of the drama, he’s charming as the supportive partner and dad. And they all work together to fill the film with laughs and maybe a few tears, too.
The Truth isn’t the heavy family drama that you might be expecting. While it has some moving moments, it’s often surprisingly light, too. And it makes for an entertaining film about the challenges of being family.
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