Trouble Every Day

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Trouble Every Day

May 21st 2008 01:12

I’ve been casually following the films of French auteur Claire Denis ever since I saw her debut tale of sexual ennui, the deeply evocative and languidly sensual Chocolat (1988) at a film festival twenty years ago. She’s a true cinema poet, which means her work can be as frustrating as it is rewarding.

Trouble Every Day (2001) is no exception, but it also happens to be one of the most original and disturbing takes on cannibalism/vampirism ever made. A mutant-strain that floats like a butterfly and stings like a scorpion, a dark and confounding tale of sexual dysfunction and obsession.

Vincent Gallo as Shane

Shane Brown (Vincent Gallo) and his wife June (Tricia Vessey) are newlyweds arriving in Paris on their honeymoon. During the plane journey Shane experiences a moment of intense anxiety whilst in bathroom his mind swimming with thoughts of himself and his wife amidst blood-soaked carnality; it’s a frightening image. Back in his seat he cuddles with June, but it’s obvious Shane is a deeply troubled man.

Tricia Vessey as June

Meanwhile on the outskirts of Paris a woman, Coré (Beatrice Dalle) drifts along the pavement in a semi-daze. An opportunist trucker stops, gets out and approaches Coré , having been allured by her libidinous gaze.

Trouble Every Day Alex Descas and Beatrice Dalle

Alex Descas as Leo Semeneau and Beatrice Dalle as Core

Later, after dark, a man riding home on his motorcycle stops by the deserted truck. He senses something and searches in the nearby scrub only to find the ravaged corpse of the trucker, and Coré nearby her face and clothes smeared with the man’s blood. He comforts her.

Atop the Gothic Notre Dame Shane contemplates his predicament

Next day the man, Léo Semeneau (Alex Descas), whom we soon learn is a doctor, locks Coré up in a bedroom and leaves her to run errands. Meanwhile Shane and June, who’ve settled into their hotel suite, are having difficulty relaxing, as Shane is acutely anxious. He admits he needs to visit the biological science clinic he used to work for. It turns out his colleague was Dr. Semeneau who was conducting experimental research into the libido, and had been ostracised.

Trouble Every Day Beatrice Dalle and Nicolas Duvachelle

After breaking and entering a young man reaches Core

A third narrative strand of the movie follows a young and curious hotel chambermaid Christelle (Florence Loiret) as she goes about her routines and becomes fascinated by Shane’s presence at the hotel. There is a strange attraction at work, but it is ominous too.

Blood as art

And there is a fourth thread to this interweaving tale of hunger and desire, that follows two young opportunist burglars who wait until Dr. Semeneau has left his large house, then jump the wall and attempt to break into the home. They know Coré is inside, and she knows they are outside, and one of the young men (Nicolas Duvachelle) is driven to make physical contact with her if it’s the last thing he does.

All four of these narrative arcs eventually collide, one after another like a chain reaction, the tone becoming darker and darker. The final ten or so minutes of the movie are deeply disturbing indeed, as June reunites with Shane after he has succumbed to his base and diabolical hunger. Has tranquility been restored? June’s expression suggests not.

Betty Blue never got quite this messy

Performances are very good, especially Tricia Vessey and Florence Loiret. Vincent Gallo delivers yet another lugubrious performance, reciting his lines like he'd rather be somewhere else. He has screen charisma, yet his petulance only adds further malaise to this difficult movie.

Trouble Every Day Florence Loiret and Vincent Gallo

Shane confronts Christelle (Florence Loiret) the chambermaid

Trouble Every Day (the title is taken from the lilting Tindersticks song which bookends the movie) is beautiful, erotic, morose and horrific in equal measures. Its carnality is first bold and arousing, then aggressive and grotesque. A sex scene has Coré devour a lover; literally, a love scene between Shane and June is interrupted when he storms off into the bathroom, furiously masturbates and ejaculates copiously. The carnal denouement features the “eating” act of cunnilingus taken to its most appalling and outrageous extreme.

Trouble Every Day Vincent Gallo and Tricia Vessey

Torso: Bodies Bear Traces of Carnal Violence

There’s a precarious balance between its sensuality and its depravity. Director Denis has always been fascinated by troubled humanity and the darkness of the soul. She embraces subtlety, suggestion and diversion, frequently into indulgence; elements which, in the context of conventional horror movies, would frustrate most audiences. But it is these quieter, often lingering, more reflective moments, which give her films the raw, poetic edge.

But make no mistake, Trouble Every Day, is no wistful play on love’s sweet boundaries, it bites hard and tears chunks. Like a dream it undulates, but like a nightmare it whiplashes. It’s an existential, psycho-sexual thriller in the basest, most elusive, yet provocative sense.

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Posted By: Bryn - Category: movie reviews

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Comments

5 Comments. [ Add A Comment ]

Comment by Cibbuano

May 21st 2008 02:42

Hunt Famous
Orble Post of the Day
Fat Cult
Techbreak

this looks fantastic... and ha ha, 'Betty Blue never got this messy'.

Now I'll have to watch Betty Blue.

Comment by tlcorbin

May 21st 2008 06:21

These are reminiscent of my PTSD nightmares Bryn, maybe I should stop taking pills to forget them.

Raven

Comment by Bryn

May 22nd 2008 03:15

Horrorphile

Cibby, you haven't seen Betty Blue?! Watch the thre hour director's cut. Brilliant love tragedy!

Raven, ugh!

Comment by David O'Connell

May 22nd 2008 04:37

20/20 Filmsight
Screen Fanatic

I've heard about her films for quite awhile but never actually seen any. And I had no idea she'd made anything this visceral or extreme, it sounds fantastic mate, looking forward to seeing it some time.

Comment by Bryn

May 22nd 2008 05:24

Horrorphile

David, check out Chocolat or I Can't Sleep if you can find them on video or DVD ... They're not horrors, but she has such a distinct style. Not to eveyrone's taste. This film is certainly out there ... No wonder Vincent Gallo signed on!