jeremy corbett UK
Score of 7/10 is for the great sound and cinematography in this movie, and for the casting the three girl leads. I also loved the Parisian suburb settings, which seemed as fresh to this casual viewer as they are in all probability dull and claustrophobic to their actual residents. The floaty and unreal feeling of a summer vacation from school is also nicely evoked. These are all high points in a film which is thematically about the confused and confusing desires and adolescent resentments of young girls on the cusp of sexual ripeness.The unfamiliar milieu of synchronised swimming is used well for the first 30 minutes, as the film introduces intense Marie's head-over-heels infatuation at the sight of a swim-suited blonde Floriane, and then follows her attempts to get closer to the object of her desire by joining the girls team. Marie gets to watch them practice from underwater, holding her breath to see their legs thrashing wildly in unison, and this sequence, followed by her gasping and breathless shower scene immediately afterward are both memorable. Unfortunately, the story becomes something of a 'love' triangle, played out between brooding Marie, lissom and desirable Floriane, and jejune Anne, who is the most introspective but curiously the most interesting character. Good but never exceptional acting from all three young actresses makes the film much more engaging than it has any right to be, as do the scenes of adolescent ennui around the Parisian estate where the girls all live. But the sum of all this is ultimately disappointing and like a few of the previous contributors, I detected in proceedings the hand of the writer / director, reaching for profundity. In telling her story, Sciamma reduces the boys to casual ciphers, inexplicably under-uses all the other girls in the swimming team, and sadly, when Marie breaks her (prodigious) silences, we hear the cynical words of an adult, not those of a confused and inexperienced adolescent.But I would recommend a watch, I just can't promise that your life will be different for doing so.
digdilem
I liked this. The camera work, acting and studies were very good.The characters were distinct and true to form throughout, showing young love and the complications that brings. Actual nudity fairly minimal despite the erotic theme, but that eroticism is carried through quite skillfully, never overstepping the mark into porn and maintaining interest in what would otherwise be fairly dull scenes.Motives are mostly feelings and expressed in the truly clumsy way of adolescents.My only real criticism is only that it has no ending to speak of. The story is minimal and conveys more of a feeling of a time in peoples lives rather than a story by itself. A snapshot of feelings and in that it succeeds well.
tedg
Perhaps the most crowded genre is the "coming of age" drama. It is also, I believe, the most abused. It is hard to do something important, something other than twisting basic experiences we all had.Breillat matters to me because she has guts, Campion because she is a poet. I expect tomorrow to be changed by "Innocence."This is too ordinary to register. Sure the girls are engaging, and the fear of being real enough. But it is just too ordinary.The extra gimmick here is a swimming pool, girl's locker room, trim and not so trim bodies is suits, and the commitment to a synchronized swimming team. The metaphor is just too heavy. Ted's Evaluation -- 2 of 3: Has some interesting elements.
jpblondeau
Not everything is said in this excellent first feature from Céline Sciamma. The friendship, the "wanting to fit in", the first sexual feelings... All this and much more is sublimated through the underwater synchro swimming scenes.All three girls in the movie try to find and express their personality in a very different way. It is a much less violent approach to the understanding of the teenage years compared to, say, "Thirteen", but a very worthwhile trip nonetheless.A must see, and please leave all American cinematographic preconceptions at he door. The soundtrack is A+ by the way.Bon cinéma !
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