THE IMMIGRANT
(directed by James Gray, 2013)
***+ (out of 5)
.
> I had, in my mind, a completely erroneous picture of this film.
. Trained by the repetitive, predictable, male-dominated storylines I have come to expect from American cinema, I presumed the immigrant in question was played by the wonderful Joaquin Phoenix…
. Wrong.
. This immigrant story is about a Polish woman coming to Ellis Island with her frail, sickly sister. She is perfectly played by French sensation Marion Cotillard. It is so rare for Hollywood to embrace actors from another culture. It’s a damn good thing for the moviegoing public that this talented actress has been the exception. She is fully believable in every frame, and her goodness and vulnerability make her a strongly empathetic character.
. Predictably, the minute she arrives in the states, predators are there to scoop the vulnerable woman up and exploit her situation. Enter Joaquin, playing a very bad man with a good streak. He is a monster, who nonetheless longs to be loved by the very women he manipulates into prostitution.
. This fine story came and went leaving barely a trace at the box office. Too bad. The production values are high, the acting excellent, the setting very real and immersive.
– THE IMMIGRANT is really a very good film, and worthy of the public’s attention.
*
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