Film Review: Denis Lavant Mesmerizes in Dream-Like ‘Holy Motors’

Submitted by BrianTT on November 9, 2012 - 1:42pm

CHICAGO – Leos Carax’s “Holy Motors,” the winner of the Gold Hugo at 2012’s Chicago International Film Festival, opens with the director himself climbing out of bed, opening a door in the side of his bedroom, and entering a packed movie theater. It’s a surreal, dreamlike moment and it sets the tone for a film that challenges not only perception of reality but the purpose of cinema.

Rating: 4.5/5.0

“Holy Motors” is an experimental film about a man who takes on various roles throughout society over the course of a day, not unlike the way the movie industry presents us with new characters and new personalities in a constant stream. That person you pass every day on the corner begging for food – what do you know about them? Are the emotions of a dying man less pure if we see the “actor” taking on that role before delivering them? “Holy Motors” is a stunning exploration of identity in both society and filmmaking that features one of the best performances of the year by some stretch.

Read Brian Tallerico’s full review of “Holy Motors” in our reviews section.

That performance comes courtesy of Denis Lavant, a unique-looking gentleman who can somehow be believable as a near-Hobbit who comes out of the ground to attack people and a captain of industry. In “Holy Motors,” Lavant takes on multiple roles and nails every one of them, finding such a unique range of emotion and personality. On one hand, it’s the kind of role that actors dream of in the way it gives them so many tools with which to play. But it also could have been a complete disaster as it could easily have revealed a lesser actor’s limited range.

Lavant plays Oscar, a man who rides around Paris in the back of a limousine and receives assignments from his driver/handler Celine (Edith Scob). He first seems like an average businessman, saying goodbye to his family, sitting in the back of his limo, and reading through a folder of the work he’ll have to do that day. Then he opens up a cabinet in the unnaturally gigantic vehicle and begins to put on makeup. He transforms himself into a homeless woman, begging for change on the street. That’s assignment number one. Other assignments will include such an array of personalities that it’s hard to capture in a review. There’s the creature who kidnaps a beautiful model (Eva Mendes). There’s the dying man spending a final, confessional moment with a loved one. There’s even a musical number with Kylie Minogue. It’s mesmerizing at every turn in that one never knows where Carax, Lavant, and the identity limo will go next.

Continue reading for Brian Tallerico’s full “Holy Motors” review.

“Holy Motors” stars Denis Lavant, Edith Scob, Eva Mendes, and Kylie Minogue. It was written and directed by Leos Carax. It opens at the Music Box Theatre in Chicago on November 9, 2012.