7/10
Though lacking the subtlety and complexity of ‘I’ve Loved You So Long’ in which Scott Thomas shines forth like a star in the firmament (sorry, I will control myself), ‘Leaving’, with it’s straightforward, perhaps too familiar storyline, still manages to provide her with a full bodied role (sometimes literally) to get to grips with: and get to grips with it she does with passionate force. As Suzanne, the English-born wife of a controlling, prosperous French medic (Yvan Attal) with two teenage children, she portrays sex, lust, infatuation, obsession, love (evolving in that order, I think) and extremes of emotion with sensitivity, fire and abandon in equal measure.
The opening scenes with her husband disclose the film’s tragic ending whilst leaving enough of a question mark as to exactly what happens. The following scenes quickly develop the steamy extramarital affair between Suzanne and Ivan the builder (Sergi Lopez) who is working on her treatment room in which she intends to practice as a physiotherapist now her mothering role is nearly over. Thus, the familiar ‘Lady Chatterly’ theme is done – in a sweaty, erotic, all consuming passionate way - and dusted early on.
What then follows is the heart-rending outcome of Suzanne’s bid for freedom in leaving her husband and children to live with her lover in near poverty. It transpires that Hell hath no fury like a man scorned. Her husband’s revenge is a seething, cruel and calculated one. Her response is a wild, impulsive and desperate fight for her deliverance from him. She will not be caught again in this bourgeois trap but the odds are stacked against her by her husband’s possessive power and his influence in the town.
Refreshingly, Sergi Lopez as Ivan is not a beautiful young stud but a solid, benign presence who probably exceeds his BMI. He gives a rugged, understated and convincing performance as the minor criminal turned workman. Scott Thomas lives up to all expectations, brilliantly portraying Suzanne as helplessly possessed by her love for Ivan and crazily possessed in her defiance of her husband. There are times she is so caught up in her impulsivity, she seems utterly bewildered by it. Achieved by Scott Thomas in the merest glances, she equally captures Suzanne’s ecstatic happiness in the briefest of smiles.
It can only end in tears.
