Isabelle Huppert is fanatically rehearsing a few lines clearly ahead of some form of public speaking. We presume she is some sort of public figure rehearsing for a speech or performance. She's concerned it is not memorised, when the time comes she gets it roughly right, but not perfect - there are subtle imperfections in the delivery. In the second half we focus on a man in a similar situation.
It is shot handheld with a single camera, semi documentary style with looks to the camera and interactions with the camera person. In a way it suits the rather meagre subject matter but I found little cinematic value in it - it is an evidentally simple production.
I didn't connect with it atall, alot of the second half dialogue had more than a whiff of pretentiousness which I found made it hard to focus on. I am of course interested in an actor's process, but the film's narrative concept wasn't of much interest once I realised what was going on within the film, so there was little to keep me engaged. Huppert herself is still a draw, but I think the film itself would find few genuinely enthusiastic fans.
1.5 out of 5
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