July 26, 2010
From the trailer, it was obvious that this was a film that delved into human experience with the kind of intensity that leaves you feeling, if not miserable, then certainly not uplifted. In fact, few actresses could carry the demanding lead role – Kristin Scott Thomas, however, is sexy, elegant, utterly captivating, and perfect for the part. In Leaving, she plays Suzanne, a married mother who decides to return to work as a physiotherapist after fifteen years of bringing up her two children. Yet when she starts a passionate affair with Ivan, the builder contracted to renovate an outhouse for her practice, her family is torn apart.
Initially, we sympathise with Samuel, the jilted husband who seems very much to be the innocent party. But after Suzanne has left, his manipulative and controlling behaviour becomes all too apparent, and our sympathy turns to disgust. Because these character traits are only revealed later, Suzanne’s indiscretion seems utterly selfish at first – it is only later that we see her impulsive affair as the inevitable result of years of bullying at the hands of her obsessive husband, who tells her “You’re nothing without me”. Ultimately, it seems as though she was a volcano just waiting to erupt.
Suzanne’s choice to leave is certainly brave and, despite a few comic touches and lighter moments, this is mostly a dark journey of one woman’s desperation and suffering. If there is a criticism, it’s that Ivan’s character receives much less attention, so that it appears as if Suzanne could have begun a whirlwind romance with anyone who offered her the affection she craved, rather than Ivan specifically. Yet Catherine Corsini paces the film well, the use of fades-to-black is unusual and Scott Thomas proves, once again, why she is one of the finest actresses of her generation.
Initially, we sympathise with Samuel, the jilted husband who seems very much to be the innocent party. But after Suzanne has left, his manipulative and controlling behaviour becomes all too apparent, and our sympathy turns to disgust. Because these character traits are only revealed later, Suzanne’s indiscretion seems utterly selfish at first – it is only later that we see her impulsive affair as the inevitable result of years of bullying at the hands of her obsessive husband, who tells her “You’re nothing without me”. Ultimately, it seems as though she was a volcano just waiting to erupt.
Suzanne’s choice to leave is certainly brave and, despite a few comic touches and lighter moments, this is mostly a dark journey of one woman’s desperation and suffering. If there is a criticism, it’s that Ivan’s character receives much less attention, so that it appears as if Suzanne could have begun a whirlwind romance with anyone who offered her the affection she craved, rather than Ivan specifically. Yet Catherine Corsini paces the film well, the use of fades-to-black is unusual and Scott Thomas proves, once again, why she is one of the finest actresses of her generation.