There's something about a lazy holiday. Lounging around on long afternoons and warm nights make for easy days. It's easy to get lost in these moments, especially for the 17-year-old just starting to figure out their individual wants and desires. There's freedom but also a touch of melancholy in these times, as they are among the best we may have — but, as all things are, they're destined to end.
On the idyllic south coast of France, Bonjour Tristesse finds Cecile (Lily McInerny), a 17-year-old on vacation with her father Raymond (Claes Bang) and his girlfriend Elsa (Naïlia Harzoune) enjoying a holiday such as this. They are a unique family unit — Raymond and Cecile are very close, so close that Raymond treats her perhaps more as a friend than a daughter, and while Elsa is a welcome member, she's also not Cecile's mother.
Cecile spends her days chilling, spending time with a local boy and neglecting her summer homework. Her father is disinterested in discipline, but seemingly because he's been able to coast through his life; as a result, he'd rather dote on and spoil his daughter.
All this is upended by the arrival of Anne (Chloë Sevigny), a close friend of Cecile's late mother and Raymond. Anne, a fashion designer, is everything that they are not: focused, driven and stern. Anne isn't malicious but knows her mind and isn't afraid to speak it, and Cecile begins to chafe under new, competing attentions.
For a film with such a powerful emotional undercurrent, it stays incredibly quiet for most of its runtime. Writer and director Durga Chew-Bose lets the scenery speak for itself, with gently lapping waves and summer breezes informing each scene and shots of the gorgeous Mediterranean coast interspersed through the film. It's beautiful film to look at.
Bonjour Tristesse attempts to portray emotions as bubbling beneath the surface, and, thanks to the cast, it's mostly successful. Claes Bang proves once again he's among the best working actors playing a mildly smarmy man. He's not uncaring, but he's just aloof enough to know that he doesn't quite consider the consequences of any action he might take.
Sevigny is the one to watch here, though, as her Anna is both supremely confident and uncomfortable with her situation at the same time. She wants nothing more than to break through to Cecile, but her presence is so disruptive that she can't help but push Cecile away. It's a stunning, if understated, performance, and easily the reason to see the film. In one pivotal scene, the camera is fixed on her face as she silently reacts to an unfolding situation, and she portrays all the emotions Anne must be going through sincerely and believably.
McInerny also proves herself as an up-and-comer to watch. Cecile is going through the same push-pull of priorities, wants, desires and awakenings that we all do at 17, and she handles it all with grace. But where she really shines is in the ending. I won't spoil it here, but Chew-Bose and her make some excellent choices when dealing with the story's fallout, and it's quietly devastating.
"Quiet" might be the best word to describe this adaptation of Bonjour Tristesse, a 1954 French novel by Françoise Sagan. The film won't work for everyone, and it's likely that its understated nature combined with its at-times languid pace will turn some off. Make no mistake that the film is beautiful to watch, but at times, the film lingers too long on the waves, the trees and the silent looks into the distance.
Chew-Bose exemplifies her directing skills, especially with blocking and composition, and she conjures great performances from her cast. The film may be a little slow, but it's what makes the ending hauntingly effective; we've spent so much time with Cecile and Anne that a simple change in body language communicates as much or more than words ever could. In one scene in particular, the choice to show two characters wordlessly doing a menial task together while a conversation plays over top creates an all-too-real portrait of the way these two people connect — and don't.
Bonjour Tristesse's pace is languorous — much like summer vacations should be — but the performances, scenery and direction are enough to confidently say that Chew-Bose is off to a good start in her directorial debut.