|
★★★★★
17 November 2016
A movie review of DIVINES. |
“I’m not a kid anymore,” Dounia (Oulaya Amamra)
Is Oulaya Amamra going to be the French Jennifer Lawrence? She has the acting chops tied to a fierce charisma. As WINTER'S BONE ignited J-Law's stratospheric rise, DIVINES has that raw power central performance. Dounia’s transformation, from class clown and shoplifter to drug dealer and steely thief, sidesteps Walter White-BREAKING BAD comparisons thanks to youthful naiveté and vulnerability. (Plus, she never rises to crime lord.) Conservative audience members may be quick to dismiss or pigeonhole Dounia. At school, role-playing for a receptionist exam, her abundance of anger unable to be contained is both misplaced and understandable. She is a fascinating mix of gumption, folly and bravery.
Is Oulaya Amamra going to be the French Jennifer Lawrence? She has the acting chops tied to a fierce charisma. As WINTER'S BONE ignited J-Law's stratospheric rise, DIVINES has that raw power central performance. Dounia’s transformation, from class clown and shoplifter to drug dealer and steely thief, sidesteps Walter White-BREAKING BAD comparisons thanks to youthful naiveté and vulnerability. (Plus, she never rises to crime lord.) Conservative audience members may be quick to dismiss or pigeonhole Dounia. At school, role-playing for a receptionist exam, her abundance of anger unable to be contained is both misplaced and understandable. She is a fascinating mix of gumption, folly and bravery.
|
|
Even poorer than her banlieue living peers (no DISTRICT 13 ghetto breakout revenge catharsis is on the cards), Dounia resides in a shanty town. Added to the miserable dwellings, is an alcoholic mother, Myriam (Majdouline Idrissi), who has a less than salubrious rep among the community – a further commentary on societal double standards, as well as how mistreatment is a vicious circle travelling down generations. Class mobility as a herculean effort is surely not lost on an empathetic observer.
The film’s energy mirrors the lead. Beyond the star, is the equally talented writer-director, Houda Benyamina. DIVINES is the female LA HAINE. Perhaps even better? Mathieu Kassovitz’s 1995 stylish depiction of inner city malaise had a memorable sequence, involving the point of view whirling out of an apartment window as an amateur DJ spins. DIVINES, equally, has a distinct flight of fancy. Benyamina really is a filmmaker to watch. Pretending to drive a Ferrari, Dounia and wise-cracking best pal, Maimouna (Déborah Lukumena), slickly move around as if floating. The scene is filled with panache and wit.
|
|
There is brand name-dropping daydreaming. To those not fussed about luxury labels, arguably have either extreme pressing financial concerns, or have reached a heightened state that such accoutrements are unnecessary to enhance self-confidence. Ostentatious displays of wealth are maybe a distancing from poverty on the doorstep – a crude psychological barrier manifested in physical objects. The movie doesn’t judge, just lets us extrapolate.
The use of music, from classical (Handel) to pop (Azealia Banks), represents the continual subverting of expectations. The high school movie, where the pretty-ugly girl turns into the prom queen, is used here to honeytrap a nefarious man to steal his money. Director Oliver Stone often gives his male protagonists the choice between two pseudo-fathers (e.g. PLATOON, WALL STREET); DIVINES has the lead torn between two mother figures.
|
|
“You’ve got clitoris,” estate drug queen-pin Rebecca (Jisca Kalvanda) says of Dounia. Feminism is wonderfully loud and proud. Added to this, is the depiction of the female gaze, a refreshing cinematic recalibration of lust. Maimouna and Dounia unabashedly ogle a guy with six-pack abs. The love story subplot has the heroine longingly, voyeuristically, surreptitiously watch a dancer, Djigui (Kevin Mischel).
The climax does not quite sit right, but the plot is not easy to conclude. One can look at the denouement as a little too moralising, but the main alternative would be in the realms of fantasy wish fulfilment. It is a cross between BLACK RAIN and CARLITO’S WAY. The ending is forgivable thanks to the runtime packed with ideas. DIVINES would make an ace double-bill with GIRLHOOD.
|
|
Using these Google Adsense links help us keep Filmaluation free for all film and arts lovers.