← Back to Reviews
in
WATER LILIES
Being a teenager can be a cruel, confusing, awkward, and all-around terrible experience. A fact of life many of us are only too aware of. In her directing debut, Celine Sciamma, makes it her personal goal here to capture the suckiness of those transition years that lie between being a girl and being a woman. The result of her effort is a mixed bag, but she ultimately accomplishes what she set out to do. Which unfortunately isn't much.
The mild-mannered fifteen year old, Marie, finds herself at the local public pool during a synchronized swimming competition. At first it's just a trio of second grade girls that can barely float on there backs but immediately following them a truly impressive troupe, as disciplined as they are majestic, worked their magic, showing off a sizable arsenal of maneuvers. Scissor kicks, underwater corkscrews, choreographed hand motions, all that jazz. I really don't know that much about synchronized swimming but I do know a commendable display of physical prowess when I see it and that's exactly what's put on display. Marie seems far more interested in the team captain, Floriane, than the actual performance though...
After the swim meet, Marie's awkward attempts at "befriending" Floriane eventually succeed and their relationship serves as the focal point of the film. It's an interesting relationship to be sure, as you may or may not be able to tell from the above picture. Now, my knowledge of fifteen year old girls is slimmer than the width of standard issue paper but the relationship depicted here is your classic "user" scenario where someone's getting something while the other gets shafted *cough*. As this poor excuse for a friendship is going on, Marie's actual friend, Anne, falls on hard times while chasing after some boy meat. This is drama at its most adolescent.
The film establishes early on which teenage stereotype the three main girls fall into. Marie is your regular soft spoken girl. Floriane is the slut-bag hottie that all the girls at school loved to hate. And Marie's homely friend, Anne, is the physical opposite of Floriane. That is, of course, the nice way of putting it. The three have little in common when it comes down to it, aside from the "insecurity issues" that seem to unite virtually every girl. It's this unfortunate and universal character trait that becomes a central theme of the film, as each of the girls fall prey to it, committing almost unwatchable acts that register as an "11" on the embarassing scale.
So does the movie work? Kind of. I found the main characters to be realistic enough to serve their purposes and the actresses all did their parts in playing angst ridden teenagers. I'm sure that was a stretch. The director, Celine Sciamma, does a decent job her first time out. The visual scheme of the picture was notably pleasant with some good use of colors and consistently competent shot compositions. The final product though, is actually very bland considering the subject matter. Everything about it is pretty middle of the road and its entertainment value certainly isn't enough to make up for that. You can safely pass on this one and know that you aren't missing out on much.
WATER LILIES
Being a teenager can be a cruel, confusing, awkward, and all-around terrible experience. A fact of life many of us are only too aware of. In her directing debut, Celine Sciamma, makes it her personal goal here to capture the suckiness of those transition years that lie between being a girl and being a woman. The result of her effort is a mixed bag, but she ultimately accomplishes what she set out to do. Which unfortunately isn't much.
The mild-mannered fifteen year old, Marie, finds herself at the local public pool during a synchronized swimming competition. At first it's just a trio of second grade girls that can barely float on there backs but immediately following them a truly impressive troupe, as disciplined as they are majestic, worked their magic, showing off a sizable arsenal of maneuvers. Scissor kicks, underwater corkscrews, choreographed hand motions, all that jazz. I really don't know that much about synchronized swimming but I do know a commendable display of physical prowess when I see it and that's exactly what's put on display. Marie seems far more interested in the team captain, Floriane, than the actual performance though...
After the swim meet, Marie's awkward attempts at "befriending" Floriane eventually succeed and their relationship serves as the focal point of the film. It's an interesting relationship to be sure, as you may or may not be able to tell from the above picture. Now, my knowledge of fifteen year old girls is slimmer than the width of standard issue paper but the relationship depicted here is your classic "user" scenario where someone's getting something while the other gets shafted *cough*. As this poor excuse for a friendship is going on, Marie's actual friend, Anne, falls on hard times while chasing after some boy meat. This is drama at its most adolescent.
The film establishes early on which teenage stereotype the three main girls fall into. Marie is your regular soft spoken girl. Floriane is the slut-bag hottie that all the girls at school loved to hate. And Marie's homely friend, Anne, is the physical opposite of Floriane. That is, of course, the nice way of putting it. The three have little in common when it comes down to it, aside from the "insecurity issues" that seem to unite virtually every girl. It's this unfortunate and universal character trait that becomes a central theme of the film, as each of the girls fall prey to it, committing almost unwatchable acts that register as an "11" on the embarassing scale.
So does the movie work? Kind of. I found the main characters to be realistic enough to serve their purposes and the actresses all did their parts in playing angst ridden teenagers. I'm sure that was a stretch. The director, Celine Sciamma, does a decent job her first time out. The visual scheme of the picture was notably pleasant with some good use of colors and consistently competent shot compositions. The final product though, is actually very bland considering the subject matter. Everything about it is pretty middle of the road and its entertainment value certainly isn't enough to make up for that. You can safely pass on this one and know that you aren't missing out on much.