Direction: Joachim Lafosse
Country: Belgium / France / Luxembourg
The subject of this intimate drama co-written and directed by Joachim Lafosse is bipolar disorder and the possible damage it can do to a relationship. As a result of this terrible illness, Damien (Damien Bonnard), a gifted painter, undergoes agitated manic episodes that don’t let him sleep for days in a row, as well as long periods of depression that hamper him from leaving his bed. There are moments when he loses the notion of what’s acceptable, and others when his tired body gives up.
His wife Leila (Leïla Bekhti) takes care of him patiently, but things have been getting out of control lately. Exhausted to the bone, she no longer manages to be a mother, his wife, and nurse at the same time. The romance between them is in jeopardy due to Damien’s indiscipline. Trust doesn’t abound, and Leila’s reluctance to giving him another chance is perfectly understandable. It’s serious the impasse they reached.
Lafosse, who has a knack for rigorous marital dramas (Our Children, 2012; After Love, 2016), keeps his sober sense of direction, channeling different kinds of energy with a steady hand and the help of the lead actors. Still, a few scenes marred by repetition should have been staged with even rawer appeal.
Not reaching extraordinary levels but eluding sentimentality thanks to the director's taste for realism and the accuracy of the performers, the film observes clinically and documents appropriately the particularities and difficulties of bipolar patients. This was Bonnard show all the way; he didn’t squander the opportunity to showcase his performing talents.
