Why have I only just now gotten to see this film? I had noticed the name in critic Top Ten
lists of yesteryear, but how is it that only now the wider general public is
granted access to The Immigrant, not
on the silver screen, but on their television sets? There are films that got award season notice
last year by simple virtue of being biopics, but never mind a beautifully
constructed film like this, an unpretentious character drama layered with a
depth and emotion that most films can only dream to aspire to. This is a film that deserves to be seen and
appreciated, as it is most assuredly 2014’s most underappreciated.
The titular immigrant of our story is Ewa (Marion
Cotillard), who left from Poland with her sister to find a better life in
America. When Ewa’s sister is
quarantined by immigration authorities due to her lung disease, Ewa is
threatened with deportation, as she has wrongfully been accused of being a
prostitute while on the ship that brought her.
Enter Bruno Weiss (Joaquin Phoenix), who offers to take Ewa in. All he asks in return is that she act as a
showgirl in his stage productions and sexually service the patrons
afterward. In a lesser film, Bruno would
have been a slick snakeoil salesman, whisking the vulnerable Ewa into a
glamorous world only to pull the rug out from under her feet as he reveals his
duplicity. And yet, The Immigrant has greater aspirations than to paint its characters
as mere archetypes.
See, Ewa is not some doe-eyed waif in need of masculine
guidance; she is a victim of circumstance, one who had hopes of finding a
better life after fleeing her war-torn homeland, only to find America’s
promises empty and lacking. Bruno, about
as close to a named villain as the film ever gets, has no ill will toward the
women he employs. He’s just another man
trying to get by, disadvantaged by his Judaism in a society that hates him for
it, and as much as he regrets having to resort to being a pimp, he can’t
abandon his only means of income. The
American Dream has failed him as well, and his cousin Emil (Jeremy Renner) only
serves as a reminder with his successful magic act. Emil is this story’s symbol of American
success, and the film’s truest conflicts come to light when Ewa is caught in
the middle of the struggle between Emil’s optimism and Bruno’s battered defeat
at the hands of early capitalism.
More than just the script and performances, though, the film
is gorgeously shot, emphasizing the characters as the focal point of nearly
every shot. This may be a film about the
period in which it is set, but it is first and foremost about the characters,
and by focusing on the characters, the beauty of their setting pops out all the
more. Many directors would feel obliged
to linger on their carefully crafted sets, to draw attention to the painstaking
work of the production designers.
However, by choosing to only establish the scenes as necessary and place
the camera on the characters, the most important pieces of this film’s puzzle,
the sets end up feeling all the more real, because we see the world as the
characters do, not as a passive audience.
The Immigrant is a
film that I cannot recommend highly enough, particularly because so many of you
have not likely heard of it. Between the
gorgeous cinematography, the fantastic performances, and the brilliant
direction, it is a diamond in the rough from last year’s cinematic
library. That makes it all the more
unfortunate that you had to wait until now to see it.
What understated gems of cinema do you love? Leave your favorites in the comments below.
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