Sibyl (Justine Triet, 2019)

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therewillbeblus
Joined: Tue Dec 22, 2015 3:40 pm

Re: The Films of 2019

#1 Post by therewillbeblus » Sat Dec 07, 2019 8:19 pm

Sibyl

I have yet to see Triet’s other work, and have been meaning to prioritize Victoria for a while now, but this will likely right that wrong. First off, like Unsane’s completely misinformed understanding of the mental health care inpatient system, I had to abandon my knowledge of realism regarding a therapist for this to work. Not only are our protagonist’s interventions off, but the ethical issues in termination alone (not to mention the other more obvious actions to chastise) aren’t fitting to one’s professional education and the universal ethical processes, regardless of personal moral failings. Adding in the addiction element is interesting because the way Triet handles the material details the cryptic behaviors through a wider complicated net rather than using this quality to assign meaning (its usual purpose often incorrectly utilized, and simplifying a character to a single dimension). This keeps most elements mysterious as we come to understand the character with limited information. This is a strong choice by Triet who could have made a hokey or even offensive film had he made the character less ambiguous while still fleshing her out as human. The drawing of character reminded me of Young Adult in creating a sense of intimacy that we can only half-access because of the position of limiting forced exploration revealing it to be a limited idea in its futility.

The scenes play out like choppy blackouts for a while to help the narrative emulation of this concept, and I found myself invested with interest while accepting that my information would be incomplete more easily than most films would support. Triet’s direction is matched by his effective writing skills all in attention to a unique structure, and the actors’ own ambiguity help us stay as nonjudgmental as possible in favor of curiosity, all pieces working to transform this into a social thriller as much in the jagged editing process as the dense characterizations.

After the first third this begins taking riskier turns that will or won’t work based on a variety of personal preferences to the narrative process. I loved it, and the only reason I’ll reference Unsane again (a film this has next to nothing in common with) is that both works are based around professionally and personally offensive content that somehow through an honest appreciation for other human emotions and authenticity around cognitive processes, they both succeeded in respecting the viewer and characters with empathy that undercut- even eliminate- the problems. Specifically,
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Sibyl, who may or may not have been a good therapist prior to terminating her clients in favor of her own self-interest, winds up unintentionally becoming both a sought party in that role by literally all characters regardless of their status as client or not, and a great therapist (finally issuing active listening and increased empathy after a series of apathetic, cold responses and closed-ended questions at the start) in the process of doing something characteristically selfish and (professionally and legally) unethical. Don’t get me wrong, Sibyl’s actions aren’t redeemed, her behavior isn’t purified, and her ego isn’t sacrificed (although we do have a better sense of her complexities after a late reveal), but there’s still an ironic bond, ambivalent in the face of actions that are morally grounded in defined ethics, which only furthers the irony with a smile that could be wicked but is actually empathetic itself towards its characters.

The film ends with an interaction of such beautifully complicated humanness that directly addresses Sibyl’s declaration of control in the penultimate montage, again with ambiguity both supporting her claim and poking a hole in it, but all this does is make the film humanist and humble, and worthy of soaking in with our own empathy and without judgment.

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domino harvey
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Sibyl (Justine Triet, 2019)

#2 Post by domino harvey » Sat Jan 18, 2020 3:45 am

I was really looking forward to this but I found it a big step back from Victoria and didn’t think the dramatic beats or most of the comedy worked because it’s so jarring when configured inside the less interesting dramatic swings, though Sandra Huller really gives it the ol’ college try. Probably does not help this movie’s case at all that Virginie Efira just played a much more fucked up (!) and interesting variation on the relapsing alcoholic archetype in Le grand bain, a mainstream French comedy far more successful as a film than this smarty pants-appealing misfire. Speaking of, I don’t think Triet wears her arthouse affectations here nearly as effectively as she wore a traditional romantic comedy in Victoria. If anyone wants to see Triet directing Efira as a professional woman in a personal tailspin, just rent that off Amazon instead

I did appreciate TWBB’s field-based reclamation of Efira’s therapeutic skills, though, because to my non-professional eyes she looked like the worst movie therapist of all time, and I’ve seen L’amant double!

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therewillbeblus
Joined: Tue Dec 22, 2015 3:40 pm

Re: The Films of 2019

#3 Post by therewillbeblus » Sat Jan 18, 2020 8:44 pm

domino harvey wrote:
Sat Jan 18, 2020 3:45 am
I did appreciate TWBB’s field-based reclamation of Efira’s therapeutic skills, though, because to my non-professional eyes she looked like the worst movie therapist of all time, and I’ve seen L’amant double!
I’ve been thinking about this and I do think she’s the worst movie therapist I’ve seen, though I was angrier at the social worker in Joker who defied basic social skills of a three year old let alone a human services professional by terminating with him the way she did with not even a two word validating statement even when he asked for it. In a movie I mostly liked that scene was just pathetically conceived, regardless of the whole Gotham-apathy attitude. Sibyl’s on the other hand is so wrong it’s absurd and it’s fine because it knows it, which opens the door for a sideways glance at the character necessary for the turns that follow.

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domino harvey
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Re: Sibyl (Justine Triet, 2019)

#4 Post by domino harvey » Sat Jan 18, 2020 10:23 pm

Funnily enough, when I saw Victoria the first time, I was dating a lawyer and she confirmed that, yep, Efira’s character shouldn’t be doing anything she’s doing professionally. I just think it worked better there because Efira wasn’t incompetent and her misadventures were less severe (representing a friend in court and employing a former client) and played fully for laughs. I think how seriously this film takes Efira is a mistake, though, and it should have similarly pushed her into a fully comic character like Huller. Though really, looking back on it, everyone in Sibyl is kind of bad at their job, aren’t they?

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therewillbeblus
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Re: Sibyl (Justine Triet, 2019)

#5 Post by therewillbeblus » Sat Jan 18, 2020 10:27 pm

Yeah but I felt like they took the emotions and overall psychology seriously while playing those deficits for laughs as a point to the fallible nature of human beings. It’s a line that’s hard to walk but worked for me though still uneven and perplexing at times, and I’ll admit that some of what works only did so through my subjective interpretation and personal experience. Damn, I need to get on Victoria already

Nasir007
Joined: Sat May 25, 2019 11:58 am

Re: Sibyl (Justine Triet, 2019)

#6 Post by Nasir007 » Sun Jan 19, 2020 1:56 am

I was quite taken with this film when I saw it at NYFF last year.

I think what has to be called out here is the editing of the movie which in some ways is quite unusual. I was interested enough to see the movie's Cannes press conference where I learned that she essentially cut a 3 hr movie down to 2 hours and it kinda feels that way - in a very good way. There is a density to the material and it juggles several plotlines and characters quite expertly. It is novelisitic in its texture.

The sharp editing aesthetic also has a slightly disorienting feeling in that it often plonks you down right in the middle of things, literally in the middle of a shot with little to no explanation and the audience is expected to deduce the relationship of the characters and what is happening based on the dialog and performances. I would say this makes the film most interesting, as you are constantly engrossed, trying to figure out how everything is related.

I think this is a sign of respecting the audience and demanding and expecting that they pay attention, a quality rarely found in American films of this kind.

The second most interesting thing about this movie is the tone - which is kinda arch but still dramatic and comedic by turns. I kinda sorta might compare it to Elle - another comedy of manners with a dark twisted plot. I mean the ethical lapses happening in this movie are deliciously outrageous. This could easily become a farce but remains grounded because of the performances specially by Efira who is magnificent in the lead role.

I think this film could be dismissed as a rom com in the US as a tangle of affairs of several neurotic people but I think this film is definitely more skillful than that. There is definitely some ambition and the film-making is definitely bold and fascinating and interesting at all times.

But the tone is what stays with you - Efira pitches it exactly right - somewhere between ridicule and pathos.

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therewillbeblus
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Re: Sibyl (Justine Triet, 2019)

#7 Post by therewillbeblus » Sun Jan 19, 2020 3:14 am

I don't think this film could ever be thought of as a rom-com in the U.S. and part of why the French are so gifted in filmmaking is not just the ability to see beyond established structure and thematic eclecticism but the resignation of any unilateral signifier in conceptualization. A film like Sibyl has romantic comedy elements, just as much as it has plenty of other genre and mood shifts, but the only way an American audience would mistake this for that is if they walked into the movie maybe halfway through and then left after 20 minutes.

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Aunt Peg
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Re: Sibyl (Justine Triet, 2019)

#8 Post by Aunt Peg » Mon Dec 14, 2020 10:09 pm

I contacted Music Box Films the other week to ask if they will releasing Sibyl on physical media and the response was they won't be.

There will be no physical media release in Australia where it went from the cinemas onto streaming shortly afterwards. As far as I know the film doesn't have a UK distributor. However, the Korean DVD release has English subtitles. Nice looking transfer. Also the bits in English do not have English subtitles which is appropriate.

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