Elevated viewpoints on aging
Print Edition
THE aging actress has always been a deliciously potent subject for movies, from Norma Desmond in “Sunset Boulevard” to Margo Channing in “All About Eve” and way beyond.
It’s clear why: The struggle to remain young and vital is so universal, yet especially urgent for a movie star. It’s also because playing an aging star is such a juicy role for — well, an aging star.
Which brings us to gorgeous Juliette Binoche, who, at 51, is hardly what we’d call aging — even if she looked her age, which she doesn’t, we all know 50 is the new 30.
Still, in this movie, her luminous, expressive face becomes an ideal canvas for director Olivier Assayas to meditate on the interweaving forces of time, age, identity, self-worth, art, and oh, a few other things. Assayas also makes excellent use of a compelling Kristen Stewart, moving yet further from her “Twilight” days as a cerebral, doubt-plagued personal assistant. Assayas completes her intriguing actress triangle with young Chloe Grace Moretz as an of-the-moment Hollywood starlet who seeks serious acting cred.
Binoche plays Maria Enders, a 40-something French actress who’s found success both in serious European work and in Hollywood blockbusters. “I’m tired of acting hanging from wires in front of green screens,” she tells her assistant, Valentine (Stewart). “I’ve outgrown it.”
All the more reason, Valentine will argue, that Maria should accept an offer to star in a London revival of the play that made her a star two decades earlier. In “Maloja Snake,” named after a mystical Alpine cloud formation that signals bad weather, Maria once shone as the ingenue Sigrid, whose potent charms drive her older boss, Helena, to suicide.
But now, Maria’s being asked to play not Sigrid, but Helena. She hates the character for her weakness and desperation. Making things worse, the actress who first played the role ended up dying soon after in a car accident, adding superstition to the mix.
But Maria realizes it’s an opportunity she can’t pass up. So she agrees, and finds her holed away to rehearse lines with Valentine in a remote Swiss Alps chalet. Amid the subtext about aging, there’s also an exploration of what constitutes art.
“Clouds of Sils Maria” is very similar to the mountain path that Maria and Valentine hike, hoping to catch a peek at the ominous snaking clouds. It’s winding, and it sure takes time, and it’s not all that clearly marked. But by the end, you’re left with quite a view.
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