January 12, 2023
FILM: SAINT OMER
STARRING: KAYIJE KAGAME, GUSLAGIE MALANDA, VALERIE DREVILLE
DIRECTED BY: ALICE DIOP
RATING: 3 ½ OUT OF 4 STARS
By Dan Pal
Saint Omer is one of the fifteen films vying for an Oscar nomination this year for Best International Feature. It’s stands a good chance if not for it’s technical side but for its philosophical ideas and rich character study.
Courtroom dramas usually get a bad rap. There are often some big stagey scenes in which prosecutors target emotional defendants. There’s usually a lot of shouting and crying along with the reaction shots from the spectators in the courtroom. Saint Omer takes a bit of a different approach. The story centers on a young woman, Laurence Coly, who is on trial for killing her fifteen-month old daughter. She has already confessed to the crime so the big question becomes why? What were her motivations? What was going on in her life just before the murder? Do these details have any relevance?
Before we get to any of that, we are introduced to Rama, a teacher and novelist, who is preparing to write a book that echoes the story of Madea and the current crime. She’s a quiet woman who, like the defendant, has a relationship with a Caucasian man and a strained connection to her mother. She’s tired and a bit distraught about what, we don’t initially know. The parallels between these two women go further as the details are revealed about both.
What director Alice Diop does interesting here is to spend time with each character’s stories. Laurence’s life is explored in the courtroom as she is given many questions to answer about her background. We learn about her broken and oppressive home life growing up as well as her relationship with the baby’s father Luc, who is thirty-four years older than her. These scenes come across as more of a therapy session than a traditional movie trial scene. The judge confronts but in a soft, less combative way than we usually see on screen lawyers do. Throughout, Laurence remains mostly stone faced and unflinching as she provides details while looking directly at the judge. There are few cuts in these scenes and there isn’t anything particularly cinematic in the way the character is shot. This is a case of viewers being required to hear and NOT see what is being discussed. The idea goes against what we typically tell directors and screenwriters to do but what Laurence tells the court and us is pretty compelling.
Occasionally there are cuts to Rama who is taking notes during the trial. She appears to slowly have an emotional reaction to some of Laurence’s testimony but most of what we learn about her comes from outside the courtroom. Details are also revealed about Laurence’s mother whom Rama befriends on the outside. Likewise we hear a whole other perspective on Laurence by Luc. It is these multiple perspectives about Laurence and the case that makes both feel fully developed and far from one sided. However, the majority of what we learn here can only be imagined based on what the characters are saying since we don’t see much of what is discussed. This is where the film might lose some viewers.
Yet, there is a definite richness to what the main characters are going through in their lives. Even further, it is the philosophical questions the film raises that make the story itself deeply interesting. In one of the closing statements, a lawyer looks directly into the camera and asks the jury, along with us, to consider everything we’ve heard. Yes, we know Laurence killed her child but what bearing does her life have on the reasons for the crime? We are asked to consider why and in turn decide for ourselves what kind of punishment might be appropriate. Can we forgive Laurence? Is she in any way justified in her actions?
In the end this is a story about the relationship between mothers and daughters and the strong bond they have even before birth. Viewing this though, one needs to be open to the questions being posed and look beyond the horrific crime for what it is. To do so lends itself to a rewarding and reflective film experience.
Saint Omer opens in limited release this week, including at the Gene Siskel Center in Chicago.