Rebecca puts herself through hell on earth to share the stories of people about whom the world would like to forget. The disregard for her own safety, however, puts a significant strain on both her marriage and her family life. When she is nearly killed tailing a suicide bomber, Rebecca’s husband, Marcus (Game of Thrones’ Nikolaj Coster-Waldau) gives her an ultimatum. She must choose between her life’s work and the family she loves.
A Thousand Times Good Night is not the story of a working mother trying to balance her job with her family. It’s a look at the life of a woman who must make an impossible choice between the essence of her self and those she loves most. I’m sure an academic paper could deconstruct this as a feminist work, but I’ll just say I appreciated that the main character is a woman, but more importantly, she is a human being, and who better to give such a raw performance than Juliette Binoche? I’ve never seen her in a role she didn’t seem born to play, and as usual, she gives the audience all of herself. She is unafraid to show a woman the way she really looks, acts, and feels. Though, let’s be honest, even when her character is supposed to look unkempt and harried, Binoche still exudes natural beauty.
This film was a seamlessly powerful look at both the world most of us are guilty of ignoring and what it can do emotionally to those who dare to watch. The screenplay (written by director Erik Poppe, Harald Rosenløw-Eeg and Kirsten Sheridan) does an excellent job of providing a balance between the two worlds. When the story jumps between the war zone of Afghanistan and Kenya and Rebecca’s more peaceful home in Ireland, the scenes shift naturally.
The images throughout the film also serve the balance between the world of the living and that of the dead. From several incidences of white, flowy barriers between characters and the ocean that Rebecca treads during her near-death experiences, we watch Rebecca drift between the two worlds. In fact, one of the most open conversations in the entire film occurs when Rebecca and her daughter, Steph (Lauryn Canny) sit on opposite beds, separated by white mosquito netting. This physical barrier somehow makes it easier to share their feelings, as if the netting will keep those freshly exposed words safe.
Finally, the score is simply breathtaking. It’s beautiful, haunting and ephemeral. As if some of the situations and images aren’t moving enough, the music comes in at just the right moments and in just the right key to push said emotions to the edge of your eyes and down your cheeks. The film premiered at the Montreal film festival last year and is currently making its way across the globe (look for it in the UK on May 2). So while this may seem like a fangirl post for this movie and Binoche in general (maybe just a bit), you really should give it a shot if comes your way.
A Thousand Times Good Night from director Erik Poppe and starring Juliette Binoche and Nikolaj Coster-Waldau. Premiered at the Montreal Film Festival last year and will be in UK cinemas on May 2nd.
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