By Matthew Moorcroft

Weak Recommendation

• Directed by Catherine Breillant
• Starring Lea Drucker, Olivier Rabourdin, Samuel Kircher, Clotide Courau
• Not Rated

If there is anything Catherine Breillant isn’t known for, it’s restraint. The French filmmaker, who has been in the business long enough to be known as old guard at this point, might not even know what the word means frankly, and while debates will rage on whether or not her style works for you personally there is something to be said about her general aesthetic and the topics she tends to choose as her subjects.

Her grand return after a decade of non-activity, Last Summer arrives as a remake of equally transgressive Danish film Queen of Hearts and also a shockingly tame exercise when compared to her prior work. Not to say it won’t shock people not used to her work, far from it – Last Summer is still sure to stir up frenzy among the less Breillant inclined for a bunch of reasons, but for those in the know about her provocations it will seem as if she purposefully toned herself down here for whatever reason.

It’s not like the material needed toning down. Last Summer is a story about a taboo relationship – hell it’s about as taboo as it can get – and it’s not afraid to ask difficult questions about the nature of love, obsession, and people’s seeming desire to self-sabotage themselves. But also it’s remarkably unrisky in that regard, based entirely in reused thematic idea from Breillant’s prior work as well as losing much of the more openly “holy shit I can’t believe they got away with that” levels of boundary pushing the original Danish film managed to convey.

It’s not like the film is ultimately without merits though. To Breillant’s credit, her version is different enough to stand it’s own, and it’s final act delves into more murky, shadier territory that feels on point with her prior work. Lea Drucker is also magnificent here, having to balance a lot as well as remain somewhat relatable in spite of the actions she is taking. When the film truly soars, it’s cause of Drucker. Breillant keeps the focus squarely on her for the most part, very rarely looking away from her perspective so much of the moments that don’t involve her are left up to mystery.

But I also can’t deny that Last Summer doesn’t really so much have a greater point to make outside of “we are all kind of fucked up, huh?” which frankly isn’t really all that compelling. Maybe call me desensitized, but Last Summer‘s overall execution leaves a lot to be desired and feels purposefully at a distance, like Breillant is afraid to actually “go there”, which is bizarre considering she has several times in the past and will likely continue to do so if she makes other films past this.

Or maybe I was just expecting something different and more out there then what she was intending. It’s far from a bad film, mind you – it’s got a lot to like in the performance department and it’s thematically meaty at points – but when it comes to other films by her, it’s something of a lesser effort and a footnote in an otherwise more fascinating filmography. For Breillant completionists only.