Review: 'Saint Omer' is a dense courtroom drama about mothers and daughters, but the emotional payoff is immense.
Director Alice Diop demands a lot from the audience in her courtroom drama “Saint Omer” — and for those willing to meet the movie head-on, there is an emotional payoff.
Rama (Kayije Kagame) is a literature professor and novelist, and her latest project is hitting close to home. She travels to Saint-Omer, in the far northern corner of France, which is where she grew up. She’s there to witness the trial of Laurence Coly (Guslagie Malanda), a Senegalese immigrant on trial for killing her 15-month-old baby by leaving her on the shore and letting the waves drown her.
Rama’s idea is to use Laurence’s trial as the basis for a modern-day take on “Medea,” the ancient Greek tragedy of a woman who killed her children. But as the court testimony goes on, Rama notices the parallels between Laurence’s story and her own. Both are from Senegal, both are in relationships with Caucasian Frenchmen, and Rama is four months’ pregnant and having doubts about what kind of mother she will be.
Diop, writing with frequent collaborator Amrita David (who also edited the film), takes the audience on an uncomfortable trip into the mind of Black immigrants living in a predominantly white country — a life, no matter one’s class status, that involves constantly being questioned about your place. Diop sets up a fascinating contrast between Rama and Laurence, two women who aren’t as far apart as Rama initially believes.
The story plays out mostly in courtroom scenes, and I have to admit my unfamiliarity with the way French court testimony works had me confused for part of my viewing. (One moment, when Laurence’s white attorney, played by Aurélia Petit, gives the summation, reminded me too much of Matthew McConaughey’s character in “A Time to Kill.”)
Watching the two lead performances, by Kagame and Malanda, as two women with common situations but different outcomes, makes for compelling drama — and gives “Saint Omer” the tension Diop is seeking to create.
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‘Saint Omer’
★★★
Opening Friday, February 3, at the Broadway Centre Cinemas (Salt Lake City). Rated PG-13 for some thematic elements and brief strong language. Running time: 124 minutes; in French with subtitles.