I've Loved You So Long

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Scott Thomas plays Juliette, an ex-con who gets paroled after fifteen years inside and moves in with her younger sister Lea (Zylbertstein), Lea's husband and two children. Because of the nature of her crime, Lea's parents forced her to forget Juliette ever existed, and the two sisters spend time getting to know each other all over again; this proves tough work as Juliette is a shell of a person and has closed her heart to the world. It mightn't be the most unique story in the world but Claudel's clever script finds pockets of originality. The writer-director likes to peel the onion, revealing layers and layers to the characters as the plot progresses: we know absolutely nothing of Juliette when we first meet her - what she's done and why - but slowly Claudel dribbles out the information which allows to perpetually revaluate Juliette every ten minutes. Of course all of the above would be nothing without an actor delivering the finest performance of her career; to say Scott Thomas is brilliant is an understatement, playing down everything when most actresses in this role wouldn't be able to resist giving it socks. Since Juliette is dead inside, Scott Thomas restricts her performance to the eyes alone, and it's only her eyes that change as she slowly warms to her new surroundings. It's not all Scott Thomas as Zylberstein plays Lea the only way Lea can be played: even though she's married with two kids, Lea will always be Juliette's little sister and her subtle attempts to appease and impress her big sis while harbouring some serious resentment are pitch perfect.