Clouds of Sils Maria (2014)

I have a habit of sometimes just scrolling through the guide on my TV, scanning through the movie channels and landing on something that looks interesting simply based on the actors or the short description. The blurb for this movie said "a veteran actress comes face-to-face with an uncomfortable reflection of herself..." and I thought that would be interesting. I enjoy Juliette Binoche, and figured I could overlook the inclusion of Kristen Stewart. I still feel the setup had potential, but it fell completely flat

Twenty years ago, a Swiss playwright cast Maria Enders (Binoche) in his play as a young woman who seduces and manipulates her female boss. The play and the subsequent movie version launch Maria's career. In the present day, there is a plan to restage the play, with Enders taking on the role of the boss and a new femme fatale as the seductress.

Maria Enders walks a line that many artists walk - wanting to embrace and appreciate the role that made them famous, while not wanting to be stuck as that character forever. She has a deep love for the playwright who gave her the big break, but there is also resentment that people fixate on a decades-old movie. She wants to give input to her new younger costar, because she feels a genuine love for the subject matter, but is willfully ignorant to the fact that she is now the opposite of who she was. She is also at an age where there is a weird resistance/acceptance regarding technology. She hates the TMZ and Instagram culture, but still FaceTimes and watches YouTube on her iPad. She's straddling the line between being the fiery youth she originally portrayed and being the older submissive woman she played opposite of.

Juliette Binoche was fine, even if at times she went a bit melodramatic. I have no positive feelings towards Kristen Stewart, but I want to give her a chance. It's easy to dismiss her because of the Twilight series, so I've tried to keep an open mind and watch some of her other movies, but I just can't take her style. Her name wasn't listed in the initial description, so when I saw Chloe Grace Moretz appear, my hopes picked up. She's been solid in what I've seen, but played such a stereotype that it still felt weak.

I understand this is a meta-movie, a play-within-a-play, one that has a resemblance to Birdman. The difference is that I felt like every single part of "Clouds" was delivered with a heavy hand, ham-fisted, bludgeon you with a club obviousness. The storyline of the play is an older woman being seduced by her young intern. The intern knows the power she has and is willing to abuse it. The older woman tries to fight back, but isn't strong-willed enough. The movie reflects every single aspect, note-for-note, page-by-page, in such a blatant way that I knew what was coming up in the next act, the next scene, even the next sentence. The potential was there, but the execution wasn't.