There is scarcely a wasted moment in this beautifully acted, directed and edited film about two teenage girls (Charlie and Sarah) going through bouts of jealousy, obsession and seething cruelty. Within 15 minutes we've bought into their budding friendship and for 10 minutes we luxuriate in it. The opening half hour is exquisite, with snippets of brilliant writing and the entire cast delivering it with an air of nonchalance.
The first fracture in their friendship is subtle but distinct, when Charlie (Joséphine Japy) introduces Sarah (Lou de Laâge) to an old acquaintance as her "classmate" instead of as her "friend." It's not all downhill from there, but it's a bumpy ride, with a playful -- but hurtful -- slap, a slight disconnect at breakfast the next day, and then Sarah abandoning Charlie to take a plane ride with an old acquaintance of Charlie's.
While some other reviewers seem to blame Sarah for most of what went wrong with the friendship, I hold Charlie responsible for a great deal of it, especially when she secretly followed Sarah home and spied on her having an awful episode with her drunk mother. The next day, Charlie was quick to tell Sarah what she'd learned about her as if that invasion of Sarah's privacy meant nothing. Charlie didn't even expressly admit to snooping on Sarah and just acted like "it's no big deal, I found out more about your private life by spying on you." I don't blame Sarah one bit for being pissed about it.
After that, the friendship is broken and Sarah turns up the animosity and cruelty towards Charlie. Charlie just blows off all of her friends because she's become obsessed with Sarah. I won't spoil anything that happens in the latter half of the movie, but it becomes increasingly tense and fraught with emotional pressure.
Great job by Mélanie Laurent, barely 30 years old when she co-wrote this screenplay with Julien Lambroschini and directed her second feature film. Outstanding job by everyone involved with this scintillating and impressive movie.
The first fracture in their friendship is subtle but distinct, when Charlie (Joséphine Japy) introduces Sarah (Lou de Laâge) to an old acquaintance as her "classmate" instead of as her "friend." It's not all downhill from there, but it's a bumpy ride, with a playful -- but hurtful -- slap, a slight disconnect at breakfast the next day, and then Sarah abandoning Charlie to take a plane ride with an old acquaintance of Charlie's.
While some other reviewers seem to blame Sarah for most of what went wrong with the friendship, I hold Charlie responsible for a great deal of it, especially when she secretly followed Sarah home and spied on her having an awful episode with her drunk mother. The next day, Charlie was quick to tell Sarah what she'd learned about her as if that invasion of Sarah's privacy meant nothing. Charlie didn't even expressly admit to snooping on Sarah and just acted like "it's no big deal, I found out more about your private life by spying on you." I don't blame Sarah one bit for being pissed about it.
After that, the friendship is broken and Sarah turns up the animosity and cruelty towards Charlie. Charlie just blows off all of her friends because she's become obsessed with Sarah. I won't spoil anything that happens in the latter half of the movie, but it becomes increasingly tense and fraught with emotional pressure.
Great job by Mélanie Laurent, barely 30 years old when she co-wrote this screenplay with Julien Lambroschini and directed her second feature film. Outstanding job by everyone involved with this scintillating and impressive movie.