The Truth

Hirokazu Kore-eda’s latest film The Truth – or La vérité in its native French – has a title that immediately encourages speculation. What is ‘the truth’ the characters are striving to reveal, or will reveal to each other, over the course of the film?

Most of the action occurs in the far-flung Parisian home of famous actress Fabienne (Catherine Deneuve), or the film set in which she is working. The drama in The Truth is posited with the arrival of Fabienne’s semi-estranged, screenwriter daughter Lumir (Juliette Binoche) and her family, husband Hank (Ethan Hawke) and daughter Charlotte (Clémentine Grenier). Sure enough, family drama ensues. Fabienne and Lumir’s relationship is fractious at best, spiteful at worst – but there’s a lot more to this nifty little family drama (with occasional bites of comedy) from Kore-eda.

The film slowly unfurls itself, revealing bit by bit its characters and its charm. The initial premise appears to be the release of Fabienne’s autobiography, of which – Lumir reminds her early on in the film – Lumir was supposed to receive a copy before the book was published. Lumir quickly devours a proof copy and confronts her mother with her full-blown deceit: Fabienne’s depiction of herself as a mother in her book is doting, and present, which Lumir savagely dismisses. And then there is the question of why Fabienne didn’t mention a mysterious woman named Sarah – and we’re left to wait until Fabienne and Lumir are willing to confront this issue head-on to lean more about this dangling thread.

But this film isn’t wholly about unpacking mysteries – although we do learn more about Sarah, and her importance to Fabienne and Lumir, she’s not ‘the truth’ of the film. Rather the truth here is personal. It’s artistry, it’s clumsily stumbled upon by its characters, and then renounced. What the film intends to present is a portrait of an actress in her later years grappling with her dwindling connection to her craft, and her daughter’s dogged pursuit to be more important to her mother than her mother’s work. The film presents no easy answers, but Deneuve and Binoche both deliver such thrilling performances that it’s a pleasure to go along for the ride regardless.

The Truth is a fascinating portrait of two women, and the lesser important men around them, as they grapple with themselves and their passion for each other and their creativity. Feel free to relax into this one, and enjoy yourself. You just might find yourself pondering its hidden depths long after the film is over. 

The Truth
In cinemas Thursday, 26 December 2019
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