This is a well made, well acted film that I would recommend to most poeple on here, though it would likely offend some of the more moralistic types, like the late Bruns. I watched this more than a week ago, and have been thinking about it since, but I dont know that I have much to say about it. The point of view is through the eyes of a fat 13 year old girl, watching (being dragged along like a dog sometimes) by her beautiful, slightly older sister.
The director has taken a lot of heat for her films over the years – I remember “Romance” being pretty well loathed, but after enjoying Fat Girl, I will look for more of her stuff. If anyone else has seen Fat Girl, and has thoughts on it, I’d like to hear them. Also, it contains a small, but strong performance by Atom Egoyan’s wife, Arsinée Khanjian, whom I always love to see.
One thing I will say is that the driving scenes towards the end of the film are really well done. They build up gradually to a sense of danger on the road as it gets darker, the trucks seem to get bigger; the other cars faster – great tension building.
One other quick note: This is a Criterion Collection DVD, but it really has very little extra stuff on it. It does have a 15 minute interview with the director, which was very interesting from a filmmaking point of view. She talks about how she gets performances out of actors, the kind of director power that can be misused, and how she shouldn’t be present with the editor of the film. This was more digestable than a full director’s commentary, but I wonder if at some level some Criterion fans would feel ripped off by it (As I do with the Criterion edition of Withnail & I for not having more input from the director.)
I own this but have not watched it yet. I must. I must.
Just finished watching this film and am wrestling with that shocking ending. Yes, I know that what occurs is no more “shocking” than all of the more “quieter” events that lead to this climax, but it still felt like more of a provocative stunt and less organically connected to the film’s action. I’m still not entirely certain that what we see is not some sort of fantasy or dream sequence. I too watched the “extras” and found Catherine Breillat to be mostly full of shit (about acting, at least, as well as the careful negotiations of working with underage actors in anti-sentimental, uber-feminist films about adolescent sexual identity). She’s like a female French, neo-feminist Tarantino which is something of a compliment and a back-handed slap. I too have not seen any of her other films, but I’m not sure I’m willing to queue them up any time real soon. That being said, the young girl who plays Anais is quite remarkable. I’m willing to dig deeper if you are.
Also saw Agnes Jaoui’s Look at Me a couple of days ago which I liked a lot more (the two films would make an interesting double feature at the New Beverly) than Fat Girl, but maybe the former is a more conventional film–though both filmmakers have described these works as dark comedies.
I admit I’ve not raced out to watch more of her films after seeing Fat Girl, though I still liked that one a lot.