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Yahoo
20-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
‘Love Me Tender' Review: Vicky Krieps Anchors a Hard-Hitting Chronicle of Motherhood and Sexual Freedom That Overstays Its Welcome
If there are two things you can say about art house ingenue Vicky Krieps, it's that she's the most internationally famous actor to ever emerge from the tiny European nation of Luxembourg, and that she rarely takes on roles that could be considered easy or light. After breaking out in Phantom Thread, starring as a model who turns the tables on her abusive boss/boyfriend, she's been drawn towards characters who are either living on the edge or going through hell. In the past three years alone, she's played a woman stricken with a rare debilitating illness (More Than Ever); a renown Austrian poet whose life was tragically cut short (Ingeborg Bachmann — Journey into the Desert); a tight-lipped U.S. border cop who kills a migrant and tries to get away with it (The Wall); and a frontier wife who's brutally raped, then winds up dying of syphilis (The Dead Don't Hurt). More from The Hollywood Reporter 'Splitsville' Review: Dakota Johnson and Adria Arjona in a Winning Indie Comedy That Puts Two Divorcing Couples Through the Wringer 'Eagles of the Republic' Review: Movies Collide With Political Might in Tarik Saleh's Dark and Clever Conspiracy Thriller Julia Ducournau Stuns Cannes With 'Alpha' What's fascinating about Krieps is how she seems to nonchalantly plunge headfirst into such parts, never resting on her laurels and always digging deep to find emotion in tough places. If the movies she stars in aren't all memorable, Krieps is usually memorable in all of them. That's certainly the case with Love Me Tender, a hard-hitting French chronicle of motherhood and independence based on lawyer-turned-author Constance Debré's 2020 book. Adapted and directed by Anna Cazenave Cambet (Gold for Dogs), the Cannes entry is both moody and intermittently moving, revealing the many hurdles a woman faces when her former husband tries to get full custody of their son. But the drama, which starts off powerfully, fizzles in the second half. While it works its way toward an intriguing conclusion, it takes its time to get there (running 134 minutes) tends to lose focus. Thankfully, Krieps anchors things with her typically committed performance, portraying a mother torn apart by the French legal system and an extremely vindictive ex, all the while trying to find herself sexually and intellectually. Love Me Tender certainly doesn't shy away from the frank eroticism of its heroine, Clémence (Krieps), whom we first see randomly hooking up with a woman in the changing room of a Paris swimming pool. A voiceover, taken verbatim from Debré's 'autofictional' book, reveals that Clémence has been separated for three years from her longtime husband, Laurent (Antoine Reinartz), with whom she's been splitting care of their 8-year-old son, Paul (Viggo Ferreira-Redier). When she tells Laurent she's begun to see women romantically, he takes the news so badly that he cuts off all communication and hires a lawyer to get full custody. From there, things only get worse. The movie's strongest moments revolve around Clémence's many efforts to see Paul again — a quest that becomes increasingly Kafkaesque as Laurent doubles down on his attempts to block her. There are only a handful of scenes between the separated spouses, yet they are loaded with tension and resentment. Reinartz portrays Laurent as a guy whose manhood has clearly been offended by Clémence's turn towards lesbianism, and who uses their son to punish her. We never cut to Laurent's point of view, but it seems likely he spends his off hours surfing the manosphere. Despite her ex's many efforts to thwart her, Clémence does finally get to see Paul again, although only under the supervision of a court-appointed social worker (Aurélia Petit). The first time that happens, about an hour into the action, is definitely the film's emotional high point. Krieps appears both tender and tragic in that long sequence, her character unable to speak because she's so overcome by the presence of her son. A parallel storyline details Clémence's rocky romantic life as she seeks out partners in bars, restaurants and nightclubs, hoping to meet someone who's more than just a one-night stand. Cambet juxtaposes those scenes, some of which are sensual and explicit, with all the turmoil Clémence faces in her long and painful battle to get Paul back. The more she seems to liberate herself from the past — seeking new sexual experiences, writing novels instead of working as a lawyer, sleeping in garrets instead of fancy bourgeois apartments — the more Clémence is entrapped by the life she left behind. She loves Paul and wants to care for him, but the vengeful Laurent, along with a few lawyers and judges, seem to believe she can't be both a great mom and a freethinking lesbian. Clémence's predicament at times recalls that of the mother played by Virginie Efira in the 2023 French drama All to Play For, which also premiered in Cannes' Un Certain Regard. But whereas that film's rhythm and intensity never let up, Love Me Tender meanders too much in its second half, especially when Clémence sparks up a serious relationship with a journalist (Monia Chokri) she meets in a café. Another plotline involving Clémence's ailing father (Féodor Atkine) doesn't lead anywhere special, and the movie becomes more of a wavering chronicle. Cambet coaxes strong turns from Krieps and the rest of the actors, including newcomer Ferrera-Redier as the moody if lovable Paul. But she's probably too faithful to Debré's book, failing to shape the film into a gripping narrative and relying on a constant voiceover filled with the writer's musings, some of which comes across as platitudes ('Love is brutal,' etc.). The closing scenes nonetheless lead to a denouement that you seldom see in movies about mothers fighting to get their kids back. Rather than finishing with the usual triumph over adversity moment, Love Me Tender takes a detour towards something darker and perhaps more honest. For all her struggles to deflect the judgement of other people (her ex, social workers, the courts), Clémence finally learns that you can't please everyone, nor hope to have it both ways. But you can, perhaps, manage to please yourself. 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Straits Times
01-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Straits Times
Celebrate home-grown talent at Singapore International Festival of Arts 2025
Over three weeks till June 1, there will be varied shows on offer. PHOTOS: DAHLIA KATZ, MARC GABRIEL LOH, LIM YAOHUI, GIN TAY SINGAPORE – Singapore International Festival of Arts (Sifa) 2025 is director Natalie Hennedige's final year at the helm. She has commissioned a record-breaking number of home-grown works – 15 – for her last hurrah. With the theme of More Than Ever, the tentpole performing arts festival organised by Arts House Limited will kick off in classic Hennedige multidisciplinary style at Bedok Town Square on May 16. For the first time in Sifa's history, the opening act is a free event at a neighbourhood site compared with the usual glitzy affair at an indoor arts venue. Over three weekends till June 1, there will be varied shows on offer, from crowd-pleasing comedy headlined by ever-popular actor Hossan Leong and family-friendly fare at Little Sifa to Drama Box's participatory theatre piece Hello Is This Working? and the more intimate Japanese Occupation-era tale A Thousand Stitches. The Straits Times takes a closer look at some of the must-see shows. Ramesh Meyyappan reimagines King Lear as war veteran and without Shakespeare's language Glasgow-based theatremaker Ramesh Meyyappan returns to Singapore with an adaptation of Shakespeare's Lear. PHOTO: DAHLIA KATZ At the end of a lively interview with Ramesh Meyyappan, the local theatremaker makes a request. Signing via an interpreter over the Zoom call, he says to refer to him as a deaf man rather than hearing impaired, a term not widely used in the deaf community as impaired suggests there is something wrong with the person. 'I've never considered myself hearing. I was born deaf. I don't consider that there is anything wrong with me,' he says. The 51-year-old has turned what some consider a disability into a strength, having built a thriving career as a physical theatre performer, writer and director. Nominated for five Straits Times Life Theatre Awards for Best Actor, he has won twice, for Gin & Tonic (2008) and Snails & Ketchup (2012). READ MORE HERE Musician weish conjures 'ancient Hakka-Greek' world in live concept album Performers in Stray Gods include (from left) Ian Lee, weish, Hee Suhui (Anise), Rosemainy Buang, Joanna Dong and Sushma Soma. PHOTO: MARC GABRIEL LOH Forgotten Hakka mountain songs and an ancient Greek tragedy about mania are the two unlikely ingredients Singaporean indie musician weish will blend to create her live concept album concert, Stray Gods, at the Singapore International Festival of Arts (Sifa). It all started when she was invited by a Melbourne-based artist to record a song in her mother tongue for an exhibition, which collected songs from across the world. 'I realised quite embarrassingly that I had no connection to my Hakka heritage – and it felt wrong to look for a Mandarin song.' Then, she struck melodic gold and unearthed over 50 fragments of Hakka ditties and melodies in a university archive in Hong Kong. One song, Bright Moon – about a nomadic girl asking her mother where home is – stayed with her so deeply that she began singing the melody in her sleep. READ MORE HERE The Sea And The Neighbourhood transforms Bedok Town Square with music, dance and art Christina Chan is the choreographer for Pact Of Water. The performance will be part of The Sea And The Neighbourhood, the opening show for Singapore International Festival of Arts. ST PHOTO: LIM YAOHUI A bustling neighbourhood square surrounded by a train station, a bus interchange and a busy food centre is not the first venue one associates with the Singapore International Festival of Arts (Sifa). But come May 16, Bedok Town Square will host Sifa 2025's opening performance, The Sea And The Neighbourhood, an ambitious festival commission which brings together kinetic sculpture, dance and music. The bustle of everyday life will be the dynamic backdrop, even a part of, the work. As choreographer Christina Chan, 37, observes: 'It's a visually chaotic space.' After her first site visit, she recalls saying to composer Philip Tan, 52: 'But this is already a show.' READ MORE HERE The Finger Players' gruesome Animal Farm features 13 life-size puppet beasts Animal Farm's set designer and puppet-maker Loo An Ni (left) and director-playwright Oliver Chong. ST PHOTO: GIN TAY 'All animals are equal' – so goes one of the famed seven commandments in English novelist George Orwell's classic Animal Farm, after a group of animals rebel against their human farmer to create a free and equal society. But speak to puppet designer and lead puppet-maker Loo An Ni and she will tell you that is not true. While making the 13 puppets – from pigs to hens to donkeys – one puppet made her job especially difficult. She is creating the creatures for The Finger Players' (TFP) production of Animal Farm, which opens at the Singapore International Festival of Arts (Sifa) on May 16. Loo and her team of six had already been given a challenging brief by director Oliver Chong – to have one puppeteer steer one life-size puppet. READ MORE HERE Book it/Singapore International Festival of Arts 2025 Where: Various venues When: May 16 to June 1, various timings Admission: Free and ticketed Info: Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Straits Times
30-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Straits Times
Celebrate home-grown talents at Singapore International Festival of Arts 2025
Over three weeks till June 1, there will be varied shows on offer. PHOTOS: DAHLIA KATZ, MARC GABRIEL LOH, LIM YAOHUI, GIN TAY SINGAPORE – Singapore International Festival of Arts (Sifa) 2025 is director Natalie Hennedige's final year at the helm. She has commissioned a record-breaking number of home-grown works – 15 – for her last hurrah. With the theme of More Than Ever, the tentpole performing arts festival organised by Arts House Limited will kick off in classic Hennedige multidisciplinary style at Bedok Town Square on May 16. For the first time in Sifa's history, the opening act is a free event at a neighbourhood site compared with the usual glitzy affair at an indoor arts venue. Over three weeks till June 1, there will be varied shows on offer, from crowd-pleasing comedy headlined by ever-popular actor Hossan Leong and family-friendly fare at Little Sifa to Drama Box's participatory theatre piece Hello Is This Working? and the more intimate Japanese occupation era tale A Thousand Stitches. The Straits Times takes a closer look at some of the must-see shows. Ramesh Meyyappan reimagines King Lear as war veteran and without Shakespeare's language Glasgow-based theatremaker Ramesh Meyyappan returns to Singapore with an adaptation of Shakespeare's Lear. PHOTO: DAHLIA KATZ At the end of a lively interview with Ramesh Meyyappan, the local theatremaker makes a request. Signing via an interpreter over the Zoom call, he says to refer to him as a deaf man rather than hearing impaired, a term not widely used in the deaf community as impaired suggests there is something wrong with the person. 'I've never considered myself hearing. I was born deaf. I don't consider that there is anything wrong with me,' he says. The 51-year-old has turned what some consider a disability into a strength, having built a thriving career as a physical theatre performer, writer and director. Nominated for five Straits Times Life Theatre Awards for Best Actor, he has won twice, for Gin & Tonic (2008) and Snails & Ketchup (2012). READ MORE HERE Musician weish conjures 'ancient Hakka-Greek' world in live concept album Performers in Stray Gods include (from left) Ian Lee, weish, Hee Suhui (Anise), Rosemainy Buang, Joanna Dong and Sushma Soma. PHOTO: MARC GABRIEL LOH Forgotten Hakka mountain songs and an ancient Greek tragedy about mania are the two unlikely ingredients Singaporean indie musician weish will blend to create her live concept album concert, Stray Gods, at the Singapore International Festival of Arts. It all started when she was invited by a Melbourne-based artist to record a song in her mother tongue for an exhibition, which collected songs from across the world. 'I realised quite embarrassingly that I had no connection to my Hakka heritage – and it felt wrong to look for a Mandarin song.' Then, she struck melodic gold and unearthed over 50 fragments of Hakka ditties and melodies in a university archive in Hong Kong. One song, Bright Moon – about a nomadic girl asking her mother where home is – stayed with her so deeply that she began singing the melody in her sleep. READ MORE HERE The Sea And The Neighbourhood transforms Bedok Town Square with music, dance and art Christina Chan is the choreographer for Pact Of Water. The performance will be part of The Sea And The Neighbourhood, the opening show for Singapore International Festival of Arts. ST PHOTO: LIM YAOHUI A bustling neighbourhood square surrounded by a train station, a bus interchange and a busy food centre is not the first venue one associates with the Singapore International Festival of Arts (Sifa). But come May 16, Bedok Town Square will host Sifa 2025's opening performance, The Sea And The Neighbourhood, an ambitious festival commission which brings together kinetic sculpture, dance and music. The bustle of everyday life will be the dynamic backdrop, even a part of, the work. As choreographer Christina Chan, 37, observes: 'It's a visually chaotic space.' After her first site visit, she recalls saying to composer Philip Tan, 52: 'But this is already a show.' READ MORE HERE The Finger Players' gruesome Animal Farm features 13 life-size puppet beasts Animal Farm's set designer and puppet-maker Loo An Ni (left) and director-playwright Oliver Chong. ST PHOTO: GIN TAY 'All animals are equal' – so goes one of the famed seven commandments in English novelist George Orwell's classic Animal Farm, after a group of farm animals rebel against their human farmer to create a free and equal society. But speak to puppet designer and lead puppet-maker Loo An Ni and she will tell you that is not true. While making the 13 puppets – from pigs to hens to donkeys – one puppet made her job especially difficult. She is creating the creatures for The Finger Players' (TFP) production of Animal Farm, which opens at the Singapore International Festival of Arts (Sifa) on May 16. Loo and her team of six had already been given a challenging brief by director Oliver Chong – to have one puppeteer steer one life-size puppet. READ MORE HERE Book it/Singapore International Festival of Arts 2025 Where: Various venues When: May 16 to June 1, various timings Admission: Free and ticketed Info: Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
