‘The Restless’ Evaluation: The Painful Cycles of Psychological Sickness

Joachim Lafosse’s newest movie, “The Restless,” makes a valiant effort to depict the toll that bipolar dysfunction can tackle folks and their family members. We’re launched to Damien (Damien Bonnard), a painter, in the course of a manic episode on trip together with his household; whereas gently instructing his younger son, Amine (Gabriel Merz Chammah), the right way to steer a motorboat, Damien abruptly leaps into the water for a swim, telling Amine to take over driving. From there, it’s one incident after one other as Damien behaves erratically at finest and dangerously at worst, testing the endurance of his spouse, Leïla (Leïla Bekhti), as she struggles to discover a appropriate remedy for his sickness.

Bonnard and Bekhti each floor their performances in a realizing realism. Together with Lafosse’s intimate path and the movie’s lack of a rating, this helps “The Restless” keep away from any mawkishness that may have come from its premise. The drawback, sadly, lies in the identical round patterns of conduct that the movie goals to make clear. We hardly get a glimpse of Damien exterior of his mania, making it troublesome to characterize the particular person beneath the dysfunction. While these accustomed to the situation could relate to the repetitive destructiveness of his actions, it finally makes for a paper-thin narrative, one which has to fill out its two-hour operating time with predictable shouting matches and dramatic beats. Lafosse’s empathy as a director is admirable, however “The Restless” falls in need of placing a compelling story to movie.

The Restless
Not rated. In French, with subtitles. Running time: 1 hour 57 minutes. Watch on Film Movement Plus.