abrupt transitions? (major spoilers)

Hello, I just watched the film and I think I'm able to help you out! :)

1)Yes the transition is very abrupt and mystifying at first. But at a certain point (I think it's right before the police arrive) Fabio tells Lorna he lied about the Russian agreeing to the delay. Fabio lied because he was afraid Lorna would warn Claudy if he told her right away the Russian wouldn't wait. It's just one line so you might have missed it. There was indeed no scene with the police before this.

2) I think you're a bit confused on this point. After the scene in the hospital where we learn she's not pregnant, we see Lorna, Fabio and Sokol in the apartment. Fabio doesn't trust Lorna anymore after the incident with the Russian and the imaginary pregnancy and says he's sending her back to Albania [but this is probably just an excuse - it seems likely Spirou (Morgan Marinne from Le fils) was ordered to take care of her]. So it is implied that the deal with the Russian is off. What role Sokol played in the whole circuit of marriages of convenience (if any), isn't entirely clear. He loses some money from the loan Lorna had made, but perhaps this was just related to the snack bar, so they split up the money.

Well I hope this helped, I quite enjoyed the film, but so far it's my least favourite film by the Dardenne brothers.

Vale

The first skip in the film: indeed, we see Claudy riding away on his bike and the next take is Lorna sorting and folding his clothes. Lorna's acting was so frozen and emotionless that I really had a hard time understanding what had happened here. But then we see her at the morgue and she says "I'm his wife". At that point, it is clear that Claudy has died, just out of the blue. Fabio was going to kill Claudy anyway, he just didn't tell Lorna, out of fear that she would talk or otherwise do something.

I was rather bothered but such a hole in the story, especially given the rather detailed and slow pace the rest of the time.

About your second problem: the guy in question was Sokol, her Albanian boyfriend, not Claudy (who's dead, remember?) Here again, we have to guess that something went wrong. She's left with no money from the deal, because it was all cancelled because of her. Lorna had put Sokol's money on an account (remember: they meet in a parking lot and Sokol gives her money), they were sparing togetether to open a snack bar. Probably the bank kept a percentage of the cancelled credit.

It is indeed strange to have such voids in the storytelling, when you consider how long and slow the very last scene is (she picks up wood for a fire). When the film ended, I heard someone ask: "Did it just finish there?"

Strange indeed...

There's another one in the end. When she tries to escape from Spirou, she attempts to take her bag, Spirou doesn't let her. When she whacks Spirou with the stone, she leaves without her bag. Any logic???

Anyway, I have a feeling that most European films have a serious problem with dramaturgy and plot development - namely, they haven't any. Being "artistic" and "European" is obviously an excuse for holes in the story. And European moviemakers are still wondering why they aren't successful. Their usually bleak and depressing messages are just another nail in the coffin of European "cinéart".

The 1st doctor did not in fact examine her or give her a pregnancy test -- she runs away before he can. So I (and the person I saw the film with) are convinced that the pregnancy is imaginary. I don't think that this is the medical condition of false pregnancy (she's not getting bigger), but just her slowly going crazy from guilt.

Not showing Claudy's murder keeps the emphasis on her and her mental state. It was also ironic that she trying to keep Claudy off drugs, as witnessed by the drug dealer, was taken by the cops as further proof of her innocence, adding to her guilt.

I figured there was symbolism of her ending up (more than a bit crazy) in a hut in the woods, like a fairy tale character.

I didn't mind the jumps (it's nice to have a film that makes you work at thinking about plot revelations) but I wasn't 100% convinced about her behavior by the end.

I'm not sure why the filmmakers left so many open-ended questions. Still, I don't think it's a delusional pregnancy. I think the point of the movie is that Lorna finally has someone to care for and to share her life with. The turning point comes when she and Claudy lock themselves in (she throws the key out the window), metaphorically suggesting that they are both imprisoned in their lives, and then they have sex/connection. This moment brings about the pregnancy, and Lorna's journey towards liberation.

Regarding the abortion scene-- this is not supported in the film but this is what I think was intended: In order to get an abortion, Lorna would have had to wait 8 days, and Fabio wouldn't have wanted to wait that long if she visited a new doctor. So I think Lorna returned to the same doctor she visited before, and the doctor realized Lorna was being forced to get an abortion. He knew full well that she didn't want one, and assumed she was being forced to get one by her male 'friend,' aka Fabio. (Who knows, maybe the Monique Sobel nurse also came to visit and told the doctor she had been abused?). So the other nurse comes in and tells the men she's not pregnant and has to stay for three days for tests so that the hospital can protect her rights.

But Lorna has to tell them she's pregnant anyway because the Russian is going to have his doctor check her.

I don't know-- just a theory...

The abrupt transition were an artistic choice. The story is told from Lorna's perspective and she didnt see Claudy die.

And i thought the whole point of the movie is that she isnt pregnant at all. She is wigging out- fantasizing about it in order to deal with her guilt. That's what the film was about. Guilt.