The Immigrant

"The Immigrant", James Gray's newest film, while retaining some of the gritty dark-crime dramatics of his previous work, feels like a radical departure. Mainly because its an Ellis Island-era period movie set 100 years ago, and because its observed through the eyes of a female protagonist and her struggle against permanent blight and the inherent depression of the situational times.

Fleeing the brutalities of Trotsky's Red Army, Polish Ewa (Marion Cotillard) and her sickly sister arrive in New York cira 1920. When her sister is quarantined and both are threatened with deportation, Ewa is taken notice and saved by the faux-sensitive brothell pimp Bruno (Joaquin Phoenix) and blackmailed into prostitution. Just when Ewa may succumb to the sort of drab, bleak life that she was trying to allude, Bruno's cousin Orlando the Magician (Jeremy Renner) shows up and both men via their own quirky methods try to light a fire in the heart of the pretty foreigner.

In her best part since "Rust and Bone", Cotillard is Oscar worthy in a showy albeit poetic performance (made all the more impressive that she speaks Polish throughout most of it). Phoenix is superb as usual, as the repressed and impotent man who wants to think he's in charge. But Renner steals the show. Right when you think the movie is going to slide under the weight of the misery of its subject, his Orlando appears like a glowing gaslight of fun amongst the dim rooms and crowded corridors. Like his work in "American Hustle", its criminal that his spritely performance here will go unrewarded and under the radar.

Although the universal tale of Gray's film isn't exactly something we haven't seen before (from Kazan's bold "America, America" to Ron Howard's putrid "Far and Away") "The Immigrant" presents a rare and thoughtful experience, one in which we can learn something about the lives of long ago as well as our own.

When I read the summary for this film, I just expected a sweeping, soaring melodrama. Oh, it's a melodrama, no doubt about it, but surprisingly, it's a pretty restrained effort. I appreciate the fact that it really wasn't overblown in its intentions, in its music, in its acting. The three main actors are all pretty good, Cotillard especially. By now, we know the talent this woman possesses and she's someone that can say so much with just a single facial expression. This is one of her very best performances, and it should, in no way, be discounted. I hope she finally gets that long-due second Oscar nomination. All in all, recommended.

7.4 stars.

'The Immigrant' starts off really good. They captured the 1920's a genuinely as any film I've seen. What I didn't quite understand were the characters. They are all acted superbly, yet something is amiss with a few of the secondary females and also Renner's character. Can't quite put a finger on it, but whatever it was, it didn't completely eliminate my enjoyment.

As usual, Joaquin Phoenix shines as the shady and miserable, self-loathing individual. We become somewhat sympathetic of him as time passes, just a little, but there are ups and downs. He is quite an intriguing and disgusting fellow, but he has one or two decent qualities (you'll see). Renner's character is a very likable man, yet something is strange with him, and you can see glimpses of his quirks. Miss Cotillard also performs with great intensity and I feel like her portrayal was a mixture of driven and wooden. Frankly, I feel that she was being very realistic in her portrayal of a woman experiencing such severe abuse. The downside is that her strong accent is a bit difficult to understand, and the sound was not the best. I was tempted to put on the subtitles, which is very rare for me.

This film was a bit too uneven for my tastes. There was so much potential, but something was out of place. Frankly, I think the whole Renner side plot was mishandled. However, I can't shake the gut instinct that it was unbalanced. Even with this caliber of actors, it wasn't quite enough to round up to 8.0, and that's too bad.

James Gray's beautifully shot 1920s New York period drama about the American dream gone to seed for a Polish woman, never stumbles into soap opera melodrama and the film is actually restrained considering the heaps of drama thrown at this woman. Marion Cotillard gives a wonderful performance as the immigrant who finds herself exploited in prostitution and the script wisely never makes her blind to the fact that things will be quickly heading south for her - she's a strong, smart woman who's hostage to a miserable situation. Jeremy Renner makes the most of his small but pivotal role and is the only character who seems to be having a good enough time and he injects some munch needed energy into this story. It's Phoenix, whose shyster character is the most complicated, that never comes across convincing. And while Phoenix is never for a moment boring to watch and for the most part doesn't over act, his acting decisions seem too thought out and theatrical. While Cotillard, Renner and the rest of the cast give performances that feel natural and embody these characters, it always feels like Phoenix is acting. Though locations are minimal and the few exterior shots are usually in a tunnel, the period detail is convincing and it's a nice too see a period film actually shot on film instead of digital. The Immigrant is a good showcase for Cotillard's talents and despite its flaws, definitely worth a watch.

Separated from her ill sister and facing deportation, a Polish immigrant is taken in by a burlesque show operator who may or may not have her best intentions at heart in this drama set in 1920s New York. The film holds no bars in depicting the difficulties of immigration as our disillusioned protagonist, played by Marion Cotillard, comes to accept an existence very different to what she once imagined. Cotillard's performance is rather multi-layered: simultaneously vulnerable and ruthless (resorting to stealing what she can), and simultaneously accepting of her fate and focused on achieving more. Joaquin Phoenix is also superb as the burlesque man with a breakdown scene near the end in which he finally drops all pretenses to reveal a beating human heart. Their situation is also complicated by Cotillard encountering Phoenix's estranged cousin, played by Jeremy Renner, and a love triangle develops that never quite clicks since we are unsure until the end whether Phoenix really loves her, and as it is never clear whether Renner really loves her either or just wants to make Phoenix jealous. Certainly, an animosity exists between the two cousins that the film does not explore in as much depth as it perhaps could have. Still, what the film does do well it does very, very well. It is quite rare to find a film with such a graphic insight into the harsh actual reality of the American Dream and Cotillard's character is very much one-of-a-kind. Torn between would-be saviours and false promises, she never once gives up hope, even if her own American Dream is decidedly different by the end.