Horror This is an excellent film. Two great performances back with a great story. A must see!

The Movie Diorama French cinema just keeps getting better, and that's partially down to two of the finest actors working today. Marion Cotillard and Matthias Schoenaerts. Put these two individuals into the same dramatic story and you should have yourself a masterpiece. However, this exercise proves you need more than just great acting to create a compelling story. A killer whale trainer succumbs to an accident that results in both legs being amputated. She encountered a club bouncer who she then relies on for assistance, rapidly developing affection towards him. A woman, contemplating the fate of her future happiness and life, relying on the pure physicality of someone who crossed paths with her by chance. The relationship between these two complex characters exude strength and humility, bringing out the very best and worst that life has to offer. Conveying a simple yet powerful message of not giving up. Through persistence and good intentions, the irredeemable can be redeemed. It's just a shame that the character of Ali had no redeemable features until the final five minutes, making it extremely difficult to become emotionally connected. His aggressive violence inflicted damage upon himself and those closest to him, including throwing his son into the corner of a table. We're supposed to sympathise with him, but it's Stephanie who obtains all of my empathy, who is undoubtedly a more relatable character. Cotillard and Schoenaerts were phenomenal as predicted, equally balancing nuanced emotions with raw physicality. It's a slow character driven drama, where the pacing is intricately developed and perfectly built. However, the concluding act did seem rushed for the sake of conveying redemption, unable to capture the emotive response the screenplay was after. Could've done with some more killer whale scenes (minus Katy Perry's 'Firework') to create that much needed splash of wonder and awe. Fortunately, the rest of the film was excellent and certainly will not rust for years to come.

Ironically Unimpressed Does the third act feel unfocused and scattered? Holy hell, does it!Overall, does the film push a little too hard on the sentimentality? It sure does, shamelessly at times.Does it suffer from minor inconsistencies and a couple of narrative plateaus the omission of which would have resulted in a shorter, more taut outcome? That would be another resounding "YES!".Do any of the above shortcomings ultimately matter? Hell, no, Rust and Bone is freaking stunning!And this coming from me, the person who dislikes both emotional manipulation AND Matthias Schoenaerts. Double whammy yet it still manages a very worthy 4 stars.Cheers for this Audiard, you're a good 'un, mate.

Heather I just cannot get this film out of my head. It touched me so deeply and I'm still trying to figure out why. It seems to me that it's a film which is almost impossible to define. I feel unable to do it any justice because it is so much more than the sum of its parts( but don't misunderstand me, its parts are v good) It is so subtle and complex that individual viewers will take very different things from it. Whatever else it may be though, it was in my view, one of the most convincing and touching love stories I've ever seen on screen. Top notch performances. Not an easy watch by any means, but so rewarding. What I admire most is the absolute refusal to resort to sentimentality. We feel what we feel, without manipulation. The minute it finished I wanted to watch it all over again and having done so I feel I am only just getting to grips with the many levels the film works on and its message/s. Even after several viewings certain aspects of it still puzzle me, but in a good way. Highly intelligent film making.