I wrote the Suggest, Alison Hallett wrote the full review, and we're in total agreement. As Hallett writes:
Blue is a French film about a lesbian relationship that's directed by a man, Abdellatif Kechiche, and stars two straight women. Its lead actresses, Léa Seydoux and Adèle Exarchopoulos, claim their working conditions during filming were "horrible," particularly during the film's already-infamous sex scene. At Cannes, the Palme d'Or was given to both the director and the two leads, an acknowledgement of how intense and fully realized the performances are. Since then, the two women have publicly stated they will never work with Kechiche again. And then there's the sex: The creator of the graphic novel on which the film was based says the film gets lesbian sex all wrong, and there's already a hilarious reaction video in which lesbians comment on the perceived authenticity of the sex scenes, which feature more scissoring and butt-slapping than one might expect from two young women having their first sexual encounter.
But here's the thing: Blue is an excellent movie. It's three hours long, and it feels half that; it's a fantastically realistic and well-drawn love story between two women that ranks among the best I've ever seen.
Yes, yes, YES. Regarding all the sex-scene hubbub: The most interesting and upsetting thing I've read about their filming came from star Léa Seydoux, who told an interviewer that unlike traditional love scenes, where things are choreographed and "sex" equals actors hitting their marks, director Kechiche had the women "improvise." Of all the things I've read about Kechiche's directorial work, this is the most chilling. Denied the distance and control of a choreographed scene, with no official marks to hit, the actors were left to feel their way through the scenes on their own and to forge their own minute-to-minute connections. This is also called "having sex," which Kechiche reportedly required the women to do for days on end while he filmed. Then came the male-gazey shooting and editing of the scenes, and here we are.
What's important to know is that, whatever you think of Blue's sex scenes, they are a small part of a movie that is filled with brilliance. At the center of it all: Adèle Exarchopoulos, a young actor who opens herself up to Kechiche's camera heroically. After spending three hours watching her eat (trigger warning: open-mouth chewing) and sleep and walk around and fuck and sob, often at point-blank range, I walked out loving her and feeling protective of her and knowing I'd miss her once I left the theater. It's a really good movie. Go see it.
