The story is told from the perspective of Marianne, a painter who is hired to secretly paint Heloise, the royal daughter of La Comtesse (must be royal with a name like that, right?), who detests the artwork because she knows that upon completion she is to be married off to an Italian aristocrat. What follows is a beautiful tale of forbidden love between two women: a journey that entrances the viewer with each successive shot.
Apart from the camera, music becomes the strokes which define and transform both characters. Since almost no score is used during the film and the music is used so sparingly, it is easy for the viewer to feel the power the music has in these women's lives. Heloise, never having heard an orchestra perform live, is gradually introduced. Marianne first plays for her on the harpsichord early in their introduction, quickly taking your breath away while foreshadowing and echoing “the storm that is brewing.” Later, the three come to a gathering in a scene that powerfully crescendos into the titular (I needed a way to include this word to imagine Beanie Feldstein yelling, re: Lady Bird) inspiration for Marianne. This scene is then edited so fluidly into the next sequence which highlights the growing intimacy between Marianne and Heloise through slight touches during another beach walk.
Another fascinating and satisfyingly laughable aspect of the film is how grandiosely Sciamma belittles men. Our first image of men is of transporting her to the residence where she is to paint Heloise. They row, they tell her where to go, and they leave. She needs no help in carrying her things up the rocky hillside nor when her canvas falls overboard and she jumps in to save them. The next male to be mentioned is the Milanese man to whom Heloise is to be married. To no surprise, she abhors the idea and the two in love later argue about complacency in the mother’s dated views of marrying her child off to have a better life. I’m with Heloise in that even saying Milanese brings to mind eating a delicious pasta dinner while listening to a beautiful orchestra and I would choose that over marriage any day.
Our third fleeting moment of a man’s presence is finding him eating, tired from travel, and being served by the brave housekeeper, Sophie, who carries more than just the weight of the house on her shoulders. In short, men have their limitations and need cared for; unlike the women who manage the entire estate by themselves. The final appearance of men comes as little more than an unorganized mass of spectators of a room full of portraits. Marianne stands by one of her portraits, notedly of Orpheus and Eurydice’s final glance, and corrects one man in saying it’s hers, not her father’s. I grinned through the penultimate sequence here in which she wades through men, passively chatting with each other, and pushes them aside to “[see] her again a first time.”
Our third fleeting moment of a man’s presence is finding him eating, tired from travel, and being served by the brave housekeeper, Sophie, who carries more than just the weight of the house on her shoulders. In short, men have their limitations and need cared for; unlike the women who manage the entire estate by themselves. The final appearance of men comes as little more than an unorganized mass of spectators of a room full of portraits. Marianne stands by one of her portraits, notedly of Orpheus and Eurydice’s final glance, and corrects one man in saying it’s hers, not her father’s. I grinned through the penultimate sequence here in which she wades through men, passively chatting with each other, and pushes them aside to “[see] her again a first time.”
By the grand finale, both women have matured in their own way. Sciamma smartly reveals in the opening scene of the film, in lieu of plot-based (and less satisfying) suspense, that the women don't have a happy ending. On rewatch, you understand how Marianne has matured and now uses her experiences with Heloise to teach students the beauty and precision in painting. Then in the final moments, in an astounding long take similar to another recent queer masterpiece, you are completely enveloped by Heloise's transformation and her apparent undying love for Marianne, even after all these years.
Sadly, France submitted Les Miserables instead of Portrait for the Academy Award's International Feature category, so it wasn't eligible. And even though there was zero chance of any other film eclipsing Parasite in winning this category, Portrait still deserved to be nominated. Here's to hoping its re-release this week allows it to gain momentum and viewers around the world!
