A soon-to-be graduating student named Adèle (Adèle Exarchopoulos) falls for the blue-haired Emma (Léa Seydoux) and starts a tumultuous coupling. Full of heartfelt passionate and love, Adèle and Emma seem like the perfect pair until their relationship hits a rocky patch. Can their love survive or will it ultimately tear them part?
Blue Is The Warmest Colour finally arrives with huge levels of controversy and fanfare in tow. Having taken the prestigious Palme d’Or at Cannes and having mesmerised audiences at last years BFI London Film Festival, Blue Is The Warmest Colour is one of the finest pieces of modern cinema you’ll see. It perfectly captures the ecstasy and agony of love and gives us characters and situations that are honest, passionate and real.
The film hinges on two masterful lead performances. Adèle Exarchopoulos should win the best actress award at next years Oscars (Blue Is The Warmest Colour didn’t qualify for the 2014 Academy Awards due to its release date). Her performance is the very definition of the words brave and fearless. She leaves all of her inhibitions behind to fully immerse herself in Adèle’s life. The outcome is sheer brilliance, with a performance that will tug at your heart strings throughout. She perfectly captures the feelings of first love and loss with a spectacular maturity that’s both unforgettable and deeply moving.
Léa Seydoux is a familiar face to many in the European cinema circuit. She’s also dabbled in blockbuster fare like Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol in a memorable cameo alongside Tom Cruise. In Blue Is The Warmest Colour, Seydoux hands in a supremely confident performance bubbling with style and audacity. Her chemistry with Exarchopoulos is nothing short of magical, with the two women easily convincing as loved-up sides to the same coin. She brings a Tom-boyish charm to Emma that’s easy to like and dutifully convinces as an artist well in-tune with her surroundings.
The sex scenes in the film actually threaten to draw attention away from what an accomplished piece of cinema this is. That being said, the sex scenes are all integral to the realisation of Adele and Emma’s love. If a bit of nudity causes offence then just stay away from the movie – it’s not for you anyway. As explicit and risqué as Blue Is The Warmest Colour is, it’s real, its truthful and its passionate. I’d take that over any gratuitous sex scenes in mainstream Hollywood any day of the week – scenes so often used by the big studios only to titilate and exploit. Blue Is The Warmest Colour’s scenes are used to illustrate just how much the girls are in love.
So as controversial as the scenes may appear to be, it’s all in context. This is one of the most affecting love stories I’ve ever seen, full of real angst and hardship along with lust and desire. Both sides are given due respect to cultivate an encompassing journal of this tumultuous coupling. It charts the highs and lows of love at first sight, the cautious hope of early courting and the sheer passion of sexual expression.
Recently both actresses have come out in criticism of director Abdellatif Kechiche’s methods during the film. He has responded in similar fashion, and that has left a bitter cloud overshadowing this universally lauded film. It’s a shame that such events have tainted Blue Is The Warmest Colour post-filming because it’s such an acclaimed piece of work. It seems tragic that both parties are now at a war of words. Perhaps the passion and commitment both the filmmaker and actresses poured into this film was bound to end in tears? Regardless of the arguments and accusations, Kechiche, Exarchopoulos and Seydoux should celebrate what a wonderful piece of art they have created here. It’s one that will stand the test of time.
Blue Is The Warmest Colour is a spell-binding ode to love that easily sits as one of the finest films of the year. It’s fully deserving of all its accolades and features two mesmerising leading turns from Exarchopoulos and Seydoux. Blue Is The Warmest Colour is the most visceral, heartbreaking and astutely observed love story you’re ever likely to see on the big screen and is a joy from start to finish. One of the undoubted highlights of the year.
