If The Pledge and Prisoners had a child and that child moved to France, it would be Stillwater. While it may not reach the same level of intense pacing and gripping tension as those two films, it still delivers a compelling, albeit unfocused, story with strong performances.
The plot may leave some viewers wanting a little coherence. Without revealing too much, Stillwater’s twists and turns crumble under even perfunctory scrutiny.
In a nutshell, Bill Baker (Matt Damon) travels to Marseille intent on proving the innocence of his daughter Ally (Abigail Breslin), who is in the sixth year of her nine-year sentence for killing her lover Lina.
The circumstances surrounding Ally’s and other crimes committed in the course of the movie — involving, among other things, an unlikely miscommunication and a necklace, ostensibly gold, but that we later find out Bill bought at an airport gift shop — are far-fetched beyond any reasonable viewer’s suspension of disbelief.
It appears that co-writer/director Tom McCarthy either didn’t realize the implausibility of his screenplay or purposely (and unwisely) decided to test the audience’s suspension of disbelief.
That said, Stillwater’s strength lies in its character development and the performances of the cast, making it a worthwhile watch despite its narrative shortcomings. The human relationships between the characters are not only believable and relatable, but they also serve as the true heart of the story, surpassing the events that connect them.
Moreover, the movie is very well acted, with Matt Damon’s Bill Baker in particular evoking George C. Scott in Hardcore (both are emotionally unavailable, god-fearing, single fathers from the American heartland on a fish-out-of-water quest to save their daughters, which takes them to the underbelly of a major city, and both are helped along the way by a local-savvy woman).
Damon’s performance is nuanced and captivating, demonstrating his versatility as an actor with a compelling portrayal. He’s the glue that holds the whole thing together, sharing equally effective scenes with his three very different co-stars; his romantic interest Virginie (Camille Cottin), Virginie’s daughter Maya (Lilou Siauvaud), and especially Breslin in arguably her best role since Little Miss Sunshine. The palpable chemistry among the actors elevates Stillwater, transforming it into a compelling and emotionally authentic drama.
All things considered, Stillwater works better as a character study exploring themes of redemption, forgiveness, and the enduring power of love than as a thriller. Either way, the film’s underlying point, brought home with painful clarity in the bittersweet coda, is that you gotta take the good with the bad, and there is a whole lot of good in Stillwater.
Leave a comment