I Absolutely Love This Film
After having this on my list to watch for several years, I finally watched it a few days ago.
Wow. What a masterpiece. I can't say enough good things about this film. Very little dialogue, even less action, yet these aspects are exactly what moves the story along.
In the beginning hour, seeing JD go through her routine, she struck me as a positive character, a woman who cares about order, keeping a neat home, providing a warm environment for her son. Even her afternoon appointments with gentlemen play into this characterization; she's doing what she must to maintain her life, mechanically and routinely. Exchanging sex for money is just another task for her. It makes her sympathetic.
As the film pushes on, though, my perception of her changed. I began to pity her. I felt sympathy for her mind-numbing routine, the never-ending aspect of shining shoes, boiling potatoes, washing dishes.
By the end, though (even before the climatic scene), I disliked her immensely. Instead of appearing trapped by her situation, she seemed to embrace it. When she didn't have something specific to do, she became a piece of furniture, a part of the flat. She sat like a lump with a far-off stare, just waiting for the exact hour and minute to start the potatoes. She became infuriating!
It's a master stroke the way the director gets to these changes by leaving the story nearly stagnant and forces the change within the viewer.
What little conversation there is is telling, especially the short discussion between Jeanne and her son at the end of the first day; "...'making love,' as you call it, is just details." When asked if she'll marry again: "No. And get used to someone else?" These are both very realistic, matter-of-fact perceptions of what we normally see as deeply emotional aspects of romantic love.
My favorite though, was the last part of that talk. When her son, is a typical naive way, says that if he were a woman, he could never make love to someone he wasn't deeply in love with. She gently, succinctly replies, "How could you know? You're not a woman." Brilliant.
9/10