‘True love, according to Vladimir Jankélévitch, is irrational. We love because we love. Love is the sole source of love. It strikes us like an illness.’
The chaos of the first scene of NATURE OF LOVE immediately immerses the audience. We are shoved into the brains of our main characters – fast, busy, complicated – only to end up in the first five minutes in a completely different place. That is, the complicity of that first moment of silence or calm with someone you like. A lovely entrance into what we are about to see.
Sophie is a 40 year-old in a committed relationship. She loves her partner but, after ten years of marriage, the passion is gone. So when she meets Sylvain, an attractive man taking care of the renovations of her and her husband’s new chalet in the countryside, something ignites within her. What starts as an exciting sexual affair suddenly turns into more.
As a big fight breaks out between Sylvain and Sophie that suddenly break the magic, leaving Sophie alone and desperate, full of a guilt that she doesn’t know what to do with, and Sophie questions herself and her marriage, other questions start appearing. Can something so physical be love? Can it last? And, is it worth losing all you’ve built before?
The Nature of Love works us up wonderfully into the natural talk of love or attraction. Sophie and her husband are intellectuals, philosophers, and their life is guided by that. It is full of conversations that would be uncomfortable for others. Sylvain, on the other hand, isn’t very well informed and believes mostly what he is told.
‘Schopenhauer asserts that in love, all is physical. What we see as noble sentiments of the heart, are actually the expression of our sexual instincts. It’s simply our body talking.’, Sophie recites halfway through the film as she gives a lecture. And this might be a good way to describe the plot of The Nature of Love.
The film, just like at the beginning, continues being dynamic until the end. There’re constant interruptions and talking over each other which make it all fast paced and entertaining. This is also highlighted by the cinematography, sudden zooms or movements of the camera to accompany the tension or fun of the scenes. This is clearly seen, for example, in the subtle hiding by the car’s mirror of the new couple’s eyes as they kiss for the first time, and later on when Sylvain meets Sophie’s husband in the exact same place.
Monia Chokri is a Canadian actress, director and screenwriter. The Nature of Love has given her multiple nominations, including two in Cannes 2023, and a César Award in the category of Best Foreign Film this year. Chokri’s approach is clever and gives us an honest insight into adult affairs and their normalization in society. Magalie Lépine-Blondeau (Sophie) and Pierre-Yves Cardinal (Sylvain) drive the film and carry it in their hands from beginning to end. Incredible performances from the actors make the narrative real and relatable, and perhaps an eye-opener for those sharing similar lived experiences.
Written and directed by Monia Chokri
Actors: Magalie Lépine-Blondeau, Pierre-Yves Cardinal, Francis-William Rhéaume, Monia Chokri, Steve Laplante
For screening details and more information visit Vertigo – The Nature of Love (vertigoreleasing.com)
Review by Eva Mateos Rodriguez
