Film Review - Rust and Bone

Despite the stellar reviews, director Jacques Audiard's previous film, Un Prophete, did very little for me. Oscar-winner Marion Cotillard has a definite star presence, but she has left me wanting in many of her English-speaking roles. Expectations for this film, then, were low- but I was certainly in no mood to give it an easy ride. As it happens, I was taken on a rather exhilarating ride, and this French-language film turned out to be pretty close to parfait.
Cotillard and Matthias Schoenaerts make for an interesting screen couple. Neither is especially amiable, and the nature of their friendship is somewhat unexpected. He is a stranger who comes to her aid (twice), but he is no knight in shining armour. Their relationship is refreshingly matter-of-fact, and even becomes somewhat businesslike, with the occasional (and increasingly frequent) booty call thrown in to pass the time. Naturally, this complicates matters as emotions and expectations become involved, and the couple are drawn together and pulled apart in equal measure by external forces.
The visual effects involved are massively impressive, as biped Cotillard successfully pulls off a more-than-convincing performance of a double-amputee, all the while managing to stay on the right side of the fine line between depressed and whiny. She never plays the victim, and Schoenaerts never patronises her.
I found it a fascinating watch, and will be surprised if it doesn't make my top 10 films of 2012.