Connor Macgregor Reviews…Water Lilies
INTRO: Celine Sciamma’s debut feature is an intriguing one to watch. One that has set the tone and subject matter for what will be her entire filmography to date. With a young Adele Haenel at the forefront, Celine starts with a story with relatable and a coming of age tale that tests friendship with desire.
SUMMARY: Three girls, each about 15, deal with puberty, the onset of sexual attraction, and, for two, the pressure of virginity. Marie, who's slight and diffident, quiet and nearly expressionless, is friends with Anne, who's a bit chunky and impulsive and has decided that François will be her first love. Watching synchronized swimming, Marie is suddenly attracted to the team captain, Floriane, beautiful, aloof, tall, and rumored to be a slut. François pursues her. Marie begins to hang around her; they trade favors, and soon it's an odd sort of friendship. Each of the three experiences her own first, and Marie must sort out attraction and friendship.
ACTING: The performances in this film by very young talent are terrific. Adele Haenel especially is the breakout here, as she performs a role which you really can’t tell is genuine or not. Pauline Acquart is also smashing as the lead, playing the role of Marie, who is our central perspective throughout this film. Young, naïve and curious about herself and the girl she crushes on, the film is based around her arc, and the changes she goes through throughout the film. Louise Blachere is also great as best friend Anne, playing a slightly immature best friend who may or may not be an obstacle for Marie going forward. And of course Adele Haenel who is terrific in this film as Floriane, a sexually active young woman who may or may not be manipulating poor Marie. Either way, she is brilliant.
STORY: This is another coming of age story about young females trying to identify who they are, and how they want to be seen to the rest of the world. There are some good twists in there, particularly how it ends, and the arcs that the three characters go on. A short runtime yet it crams a lot in within that duration, and so it feels like a very rich fulfilling story in the process.
OVERALL: Water Lilies is a terrific debut featuring three young fresh performers, a perspective rarely tapped in cinema, and LGBT cinema that feels authentic, relatable and forms an attachment with an emerging audience in cinema.
RATING: 84% - A-