• Reviews

• All
• Music
• DVDs
• Live
• Cinema
• TV
• Books
• Comic Books
• Video Games

Jun 12, 2014 By Zach Hollwedel Web Exclusive

If you’re not familiar with French feminist author Violette Leduc, you might not come away from Martin Provost’s biopic with any greater a sense of her allure. Portrayed by the talented Emmanuelle Devos, Leduc is a despondent, unstable, revolutionary author with a negligible amount of self-confidence. Discontent with everything in her life, she takes up the pen and produces writings that detail her unhappy existence. She befriends famous author Simone de Beauvoir (Sandrine Kiberlain), who takes on the dual roles of Leduc’s mentor and unwanted object of her affections. Under de Beauvoir’s guidance, Leduc writes progressively and openly (most often about her sexual encounters) and publishes intellectually-acclaimed titles such as In The Prison of Her Skin and Ravages.

No shortcoming Violette falls victim to is the fault of anyone on screen. Devos’ role cannot have been easy. She was charged with portraying a needy, desperate, clingy, and at the same time, extremely progressive and daring real-life figure. The obvious problem is that Provost’s depiction of Leduc is little more than needy, desperate, or clingy. Even when she has powerhouses like Simone de Beauvoir and Albert Camus in her corner, she’s portrayed as so insecure that she continually pushes them away. She can’t help herself. She starts off as an unknown author, and then pities herself for not selling enough; for not landing the right imprint; for receiving payouts from those who want to help her find her voice and make her mark. In short, she is hard to connect to. Even when things are going well, she remains discontented and pessimistic.

The film runs nearly two hours and twenty minutes, which, by the thirty-minute mark, appears a daunting challenge to sit through. Was Leduc as Provost and Devos portray her? If so, why did she receive such unwavering support? The effects of her writing are not nearly visible enough to justify her tantrums and tears. Provost would have done well to depict a little less of Leduc’s personal drama and faults, and a little more of the lasting impact she had on the literary world.

www.adoptfilms.com/violette

Violette Trailer Official US from Adopt Films on Vimeo.

Author rating: 5/10