Star Rating:

Valley of Love

Director: Guillaume Nicloux

Actors: Isabelle Huppert

Release Date: Friday 12th August 2016

Genre(s): Drama

Running time: 91 minutes

Huppert books herself into a motel somewhere in Death Valley, Nevada and awaits the arrival of Depardieu. Divorced, they have agreed to meet here as per the suicide note of their son, Michael, who died six months earlier and 'wait for him'. Giving themselves one week to visit all the places stipulated in the last letters he wrote to them, Depardieu angers Hubbert when he states that he can't stay the full week, the end of which Michael has promised to appear to them. As the days drag on and the temperatures soar, the former lovers remember the love they once had for each other whilst never forgetting the reasons why they broke up.

Writer-director Guillaume Nicloux is working in layers here. He presents a situation, allows the audience to make assumptions, and then adds something (or removes something) to offer a different take; it's a narrative that exists on shifting sands, causing one to second guess and recalibrate one's thinking. For instance, it's not immediately apparent that Huppert and Depardieu were once married, or what happened to their son, or why he chose to commit suicide. Depardieu's insistence on cutting the week short is revealed only later (in a rather predictable reason it must be said). To go on and reveal the reasons behind the current dynamic of the former couple’s relationship would do the film a terrible injustice; the above may look light on details but.

What can be explored are the wonderful performances. Minor characters may flit in and out – like the boorish American holidaymaker irked by Depardieu’s signing his autograph with 'Bob De Niro' (okay, one more reveal: Depardieu is playing a version of himself, an actor who isn't as famous as he once was) - but this is really a two-hander and Huppert and Depardieu are exceptional. The chemistry they create has an unforced, lived-in vibe – a tired, know-each-other-too-well atmosphere. They don't try to impress each other with their lives post-divorce and have gotten over the hurt they caused years before; they are no longer insulted by the barbs of brutal honesty they trade here. And yet there's genuine warmth between them: As Huppert points out, "You can never truly hate someone if you once loved them."

Guillaume Nicloux seems content to sit back and let the camera roll on their conversations, allowing time for his actors to react to the pointed conversations, which take place in small motel rooms, cars or in grand, expansive setting of the desert.

The rewards for time invested are small but they're definitely here.