She sure had a Deneuve...

The Girl on the Train (La fille du RER)
Starring: Emilie Dequenne, Nicolas Duvauchelle, Catherine Deneuve
Director: Andre Techine
Rating: *** and a half (out of 5)

Summary: Jeanne (Eimilie Dequenne) is a young soulsearching, rollerblading Parisian living at home with her Mother (Catherine Deneuve). After an unsuccessful job interview at a local Jewish run law firm, a series of unexpected events occur which lead to claimed anti-semitic violence, media sensationalism and national political ramifications...

A "based on a true story" french political drama set against the backdrop of antisemitic violence and directed by a man known for his attachments to the iconic cashiers du cinema magazine and as a leading light of the post French New Wave auteurs? Settling in to watch the piece you may feel either trepidation or a sense of initmidation but Andre Techine's The Girl on the Train is beautifully engaging.

Jeanne's colourful rollerblading around her quiet flower strewn surbuban environment may seem whimsical and remniscent of that other naive Parisian Amelie, but the mise en scene is constantly punctuated by the loud and excessive sounds of passing trains and long, dark passages. For the viewer, Techine's use of sound and contrasting intimate moments visually and between the leads becomes disorientating and creates a relationship of distrust which permeates the film - making it all the more engaging and filling the screen with a sense of approaching danger and foreboding.

The Girl on the Train is also fortunate to have a trio of fantastic central performances from Emilie Dequenne all naivity and innocence, confused and maternal timeless beauty Catherine Deneuve and the rugged Nicolas Duvauchelle. The interaction between Jeanne (Dequenne) and Franck (Duvauchelle) in particular is portrayed believably as sensual and intense but due to the constant fabrications between them, ultimately doomed to failure.

It's a double edged sword that the beautifully shot and portrayed relationship between the two young lovers makes and eventually breaks the film. The moments of intimacy are captured by Techine's camera with such erotic tension that Jeanne's eventual psychological breakdown due to it ending almost justifies the phantom anti-semitic "attack" that eventually comes about due to her childlike fragility. The film begins to suffer once it has to explain the "consequences" of her deceitful actions. Its the reverse of the tornado from the Wizard of Oz, the political storm whisking us out of the fantasy land and into the drab reality of everyday life.

Once the Bleistein family, headed by experienced lawyer Samuel (Michel Blanc), become entangled in the political and media furore that Jeanne's lie has brought about the film starts to dramatically faulter.They are portrayed as such a cold and unfeeling group of individuals that it's difficult to engage with them.
Their elongated discussions about the fear mongering stance of the French government and alienation of minority groups sees the film, ironically, come off the rails, smacking talking head after talking head between the eyes as it does so.

Of course the fine line between fantasy and reality plays an important role in the central plot point of this true story but when the audience is so emotionally invested in that fantasy, the reality becomes difficult to pay attention to or be interested in.

The Girl on the Train is split into two parts, the circumstances and the consequences of the lie told by Jeanne. Unfortunately the first half is so arresting (pun not intended) visually and dramatically that the film runs out of steam (pun intended) by the time that Jeanne's world falls apart. The performances however are a strong glue which successfully hold the film together and make for a satisfying dramatisation of a dark episode in recent French history.

UK limited release 4th June