Common Sense Media Review
By S. Jhoanna Robledo
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
Thoughful film about aging actress has swearing, racy parts.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 16+?
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Clouds of Sils Maria
What's the Story?
Maria (Juliette Binoche) is a middle-aged veteran of stage and screen who got her big break decades earlier playing the young ingenue in a play. After the death of the playwright who gave Maria the courage to take on the role, a new director plans to stage the show again -- but this time he wants Maria to play the tragic role of an older character. Maria struggles to accept the fact that she's no longer 20, a task that's made more difficult when she learns that the younger role will go to an American starlet (Chloe Grace Moretz), a fixture on the celebrity gossip circuit who seems to spark chaos wherever she goes. To prepare for the role, Maria retreats to a house in the Alps to practice lines with her assistant (Kristen Stewart), a woman who's also struggling with her role and place within Maria's world -- and the world in general.
Is It Any Good?
An engrossing plot is burdened by over-complication toward the end of CLOUDS OF SILS MARIA, but no matter. Watching Binoche spar with Stewart, who brings her A-game here in a layered performance, is a revelation. It's a Stewart unleashed, her portrayal bold and intelligent, with dialogue that references both blockbuster movies (the kind for which Stewart became famous) and how the mockery of actresses who take on such work is lazy and unsurprising. (Moretz is a fitting third point to the triangle.)
The whole movie is, in a way, a meditation: on aging, work, art. On the employer-employee dynamic, the confidant-turned-antagonist. How can you navigate a shifting relationship, where the power arches from assistant to boss, from older to younger, in a second? How to keep on your feet? Do you surrender to the see-saw or refuse to play altogether? Clouds of Sils Maria will make you think about all of these questions and more.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about Maria's reluctance to accept the role of the older character in the play. How did playing the younger character shape Maria's career and identity? What would it mean for her to abandon that self-image and play the other main character instead?
What do you think about the relationship between Maria and Valentine? When they're practicing lines, how much of the dialog feels like lines from the play, and how much feels like it's actually about their relationship?
What message do you think the movie is trying to convey? Is it successful?
How does the film portray drinking and smoking? Are there realistic consequences?
Movie Details
- In theaters : April 10, 2015
- On DVD or streaming : July 14, 2015
- Cast : Juliette Binoche , Kristen Stewart , Chloe Grace Moretz
- Director : Olivier Assayas
- Inclusion Information : Female Movie Actor(s) , Gay Movie Actor(s)
- Studio : IFC Films
- Genre : Drama
- Run time : 123 minutes
- MPAA rating :
- MPAA explanation : language and brief graphic nudity
- Last updated : September 20, 2019
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