Jeanne is 22 years old. She lives in a suburb of Paris with her policeman father, her little brother and her little sister. But she dreams of better and, above all, she dreams high: she wants to break into the world of high finance.
The Silver Venus is a story of a social defector, a class defector, but also of identity. Because to break through where she is least expected, to escape from her daily life and her destiny, Jeanne will wear a costume that is not a priori intended for her: a man’s jacket, stolen from a shop window, for example. above the market.
It is with this “shattering” appetizer, literally and figuratively, as pointed out by Les Inrocks, that the singer Claire Pommet (Pomme by her stage name) is entering the world of cinema. Let’s say it: this first role fits her like a glove, and the singer, now an actress, shines on the screen. His gaze hypnotizes us, his robotic voice just as much. His character, as enigmatic and unendearing as he is (that too, it must be said), fascinates us.
It’s because we don’t understand her: speaking of identity, why does she bandage her chest, is it to treat an injury, to camouflage her breasts? We’ll never know. Why does she want to escape her suburbs? It’s not very clear either. One thing is certain, it carries with it a coldness, coated on the screen with a particular atmosphere, several slow motions and other plays of light, aesthetically very careful, it must be emphasized.
It must be said that the film, second feature film by Héléna Klotz (The Atomic Age), is essentially contemplative, almost dreamlike at times, with a marked attention to detail (a close-up of a cufflink here, pearls there, etc.).
On the story side, let’s mention a few breaks in tone, or something awkward. As we follow the young woman through a job interview, a business cocktail (special mention to Sofiane Zermani, as a half-loving, half-scathing, very convincing boss), until the ultimate professional disappointment, how does Jeanne suddenly and without warning find herself in the bedroom of this philanthropist woman? We just don’t believe it. Not to mention the remarks surrounding the question of consent, certainly noble, and in the spirit of the times, which nevertheless arrive like a hair in the soup, transforming the character of the ex-boyfriend and soldier Augustin (Niels Schneider) into benevolence embodied. We want to love it, but again, we believe in it only moderately.
That being said, we let ourselves be carried away here by the excellence of the acting, the slick side of the camera, not to mention Safia Nolin’s cameo, very well seen, in a rare scene, towards the end, of infinite sweetness, where we see Jeanne dancing tenderly in the arms of her ex-boyfriend, expressing some emotions, finally.
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Drama
The Silver Venus
Helena Klotz
Claire Pommet, Niels Schneider and Sofiane Zermani
1:35 a.m.