Film Review: FIRE (2022): Juliette Binoche and Vincent Lindon Amaze in a Probing Dramatic Film

Fire Review

Fire (2022) Film Review, a movie directed by Claire Denis, written by Claire Denis and Christine Angot and starring Juliette Binoche, Vincent Lindon, Gregoire Colin, Bulle Ogier, Issa Perica, Alice Houri, Mati Diop, Bruno Podalydes and Lola Creton.

French filmmaker Claire Denis’ new film, Fire (also known as Both Sides of the Blade), starts with a picture of tranquility and ends with enough dramatic emotional intensity to keep the viewer spellbound thanks to the performances of its leads, Juliette Binoche and Vincent Lindon. Since the film is essentially about a love triangle that spirals out of control, the movie very carefully walks a tightrope where the characters are doing their best to maintain their stability until, eventually, all hell breaks loose and there is no turning back. Binoche would appear to be the most valuable player here and her turn is excellent, but it is Lindon who stuns viewers the most with his fierce, vulnerable performance that is absolutely among the best work the actor has ever done.

That opening sequence of sensual, romantic happiness between the movie’s central characters, Sara (Binoche) and Jean (Lindon) is soon learned to be a facade. It appears everything is so perfect between them as they are together in the water and Jean is holding Sarah as she floats in a state of peacefulness. There is a past that these characters have and although they do seem to love and respect each other, their desires and/or expectations ultimately lead them down a road of uncertainty which could lead to at least one of these character’s downfall.

A third main character enters greatly into the equation here. It is Francois (Gregoire Colin), who is Jean’s ex-business partner. He has feelings for Sara that are romantic in nature. This picture slowly builds tension as the character development unfolds. Late in the film when Francois and Sara do share a bed together, the question of the possibility of sexual relations between them seems to be unanswered by Sara’s own conscience. Francois, as a character, is the catalyst to the movie’s plot revelations which become disturbing in nature as the picture progresses.

This movie’s characters are very complex in nature, especially Sara’s and Jean’s, in particular. Jean is an ex-con who cannot simply react the way he normally would have given his checkered past. Jean’s response to the events that he learns of in the later scenes in the film fits the character to a tee. Sara, on the other hand, is not just simply looking for love or for sex in the picture, she is looking to make some sort of sense as to where she fits in and who she truly belongs with, for better or worse. She’s dealing with a piece to the larger puzzle of her life, if you will. She is trying to put the piece in the right spot.

I’ve never seen sex scenes as raw and authentic as the ones here. They are not meant to arouse viewers on a sexual level (although they could). Instead, these sequences serve to further demonstrate the complicated lives being lived by the people being portrayed in the film. I mentioned the scene where Francois and Sara go to bed together. For one character, sex is expected but for the other it is not so much. So, when, the scene develops, and characters make choices, it becomes interesting to see how these characters will react.

There are another two well developed supporting characters here as well. Issa Perica plays Jean’s multi-racial son, Marcus, who faces dilemmas of his own in terms of fitting in. When he reveals he wants to go to school to work in retail, his wishes seem to be a bit of a disappointment to others. However, Perica plays the confused character very well leading the audience to see him more humanly than other characters in the picture may initially view him. Bulle Ogier, as Nelly, Marcus’s grandmother also has some delicate scenes that are well orchestrated throughout Denis’ very multi-layered movie.

Fire is about a woman who is essentially playing with “fire” in the way she is exploring her personal life choices. There is no way she can make both of the men around her happy. It’s virtually impossible. Scratch that. It is impossible. Binoche has some fierce scenes that are among the best she has ever acted in and her moments opposite Lindon are like watching two masters in the art of acting at the top of their game. Colin more than holds his own beside them. We feel for Sara as she ultimately drops her cell phone in water to avoid making a choice that could alter her life forever. Lindon, so wonderful in Titane from last year, emerges as a sympathetic character here but even he has flaws that make the movie difficult to predict. The last scenes of the movie are very thought-provoking, to say the least.

Binoche’s Sara is playing with “both sides of the blade” in Fire. It’s clear she will get cut (or burnt) in the metaphoric sense. This movie is acted to perfection by Binoche and Lindon so despite the film’s slow-moving pace in the early scenes, it is highly recommended. You won’t know whose side you are on while watching it but when the credits roll, you’ll start to think very deeply about it, just as Denis intended. This movie will stay with you long after the conclusion.

Rating: 8.5/10

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