No. 99 (2021) STILLWATER Dec. 10th.

 

Film No. 99 (2021) December  10th.  5.30 PM  (EST)  QANTAS JET Flight between Hobart / Perth .                        

"I loved her and everybody thinks that I killed her." (Allison describes to Bill, her dad, how she is being interpreted in France).

The controversial STILLWATER has finally been released and while it never gained its big screen release world-wide, in the time it spent on the big screens of the U.S. the film was applauded, in the main. Some critics were unhappy with the 140 min run time, others with the stilted performance of Matt Damon. Me, well I liked the film, I didn't notice the 140 min run-time and thought Damon's performance was a highlight. He had to be as stilted and starched as the slightly over-sized Levi jeans he wore daily.

So you get the picture. We meet very mid western American father Bill (Matt Damon) five years after his daughter was convicted of murder while on a working holiday in the  French port city of Marseilles. He has been fighting to clear her name throughout this time. Tom McCarthy (SPOTLIGHT) introduces us to Bill on one of his umpteen visits to Marseilles. This is the visit that is going to have most impact on his ambition, and his generally insular life.

Camille Cottin (CALL MY AGENT) is Virginie a single mum who along with daughter Maya (Lilou Siauvaud), through circumstance take Bill into their lives. Virginie is attracted to Bill and helps him to navigate "the impossible" in a foreign country. There is a chemistry deficiency here, which lessens the film's quality but it is easy to stick with this story once it begins. 

Amanda Knox, really! Yes, you were convicted of murder and jailed  in another country (Spain) but when the focus of this film is on the father of a daughter convicted in France, it's a long bow you draw. Especially when you accuse a director of making profit from your story. Amanda, I don't think you own this story!

Draw what you will from the Amanda Knox commentary in relation to STILLWATER. For me this is a separate story of fiction in which there is a similarity or two. Bill is the central character here. I'm a fan of Damon's work in general and here I believe he has created a lovable redneck. Not an easy task in this world of harsh critics. And while the meaning of the title STILLWATER may be obvious, the real meaning is revealed in a neat twist.  9GUMS.