Stillwater may be one of Matt Damon’s most moving and intense performances. In fact, let’s hope Oscar voters remember it when it comes time to nominate folks for the “best of the year.” Yes, he’s that good. It’s a searing portrait of a father who will do whatever it takes to prove his daughter’s innocence against a murder charge in France.
Abigail Breslin stars as his daughter, Allison. She went to Marseille, France to study abroad and wound up at the center of a murder investigation that has her being found guilty and serving a multi-year prison sentence that still has years on it when Damon’s Bill shows up as our film commences and literally devotes his life to being there for his little girl, after being pretty absent for a large swath of her life.
There’s a mystery DNA at the murder scene that the local authorities seem to have exhausted all resources trying to track him or her down. Allison swears Akim (Idir Azougli) not only exists, but this person of interest is the only one that matters—he’s the killer.
Allison and the victim were in a relationship, and according to Bill’s daughter, they were in love. That’s been the worst part of this entire horrorshow. Allison has not been able to say goodbye or even mourn her late girlfriend since the French and global paparazzi jumped on this story the moment it broke. She was guilty in the eyes of the press before a gavel had been dropped by a real judge that can pass binding legal judgments.
Much of Stillwater takes place years after the fateful events that landed Allison in jail for murder and her father leaving Stillwater, Oklahoma behind for the French municipality known as Marseille. Bill has come to terms with his past and keenly knows that there is nothing he can do about his past. But he can do something about the present, and thus, the future. He’s no lawyer. Clearly, he’s no homicide detective. But he is a human being with a brain, the internet at his fingertips, and most importantly, the drive to do whatever it takes to prove to the world what he already knows deep in his soul—that is little girl is innocent and would never take a human life.
At first, the frigidness of Allison and Bill’s bond is crystal clear when he visits her in prison. She, with nothing to lose, is willing to see him and entertain his ideas about the case since it seems everyone else that can do something about it has checked out. Her lawyer’s head is elsewhere whenever Bill meets with her. The police, especially at this point, are unwilling to lend a hand to this American because if he is correct, then they could not look more amateurish.
Soon after he arrives in France, Bill meets Virginie (Camille Cottin) and her daughter, Maya (Lilou Siauvaud) . They’re neighbors at the Best Western where he is staying. She’s a local whose house is getting worked on, thus the need for a hotel for this Marseille native. Bill has been living solo in Stillwater for years now and he takes to this cute little family instantly. She, at first, sees him as someone in desperate need of help… and a translator. Virginie knows the case well and the more she gets to know Bill, the desire to aid him in any way possible exponentially increases to the point where she lets him stay with them instead of that cold, emotionless hotel.
As is the case in any cinematic murder case, nothing is as it seems and even when the viewer believes they have it all figured out, filmmakers (worth their salt, at least) throw a curveball that will get the cause shock and awe. That occurs in Stillwater, and it is something that no one could have ever predicted or seen coming. Co-writer/director Tom McCarthy (Spotlight) deserves some major credit for that aspect, but also how the entire tale works like a slow burn that is downright scorching by those closing credits.
McCarthy (and his co-writers Marcus Hinchey and Thomas Bidegain) have woven a web that is breathtaking, where jealousy and deceit rule the day and even brings up scruples-type questions that center around asking yourself how far you would go to free your innocent daughter who is serving a prison sentence for murder in a foreign country? Would you bend the rules?
As a screenwriter, McCarthy has given us everything from Up, The Station Agent to Million Dollar Arm and the script that earned him the Academy Award, Spotlight—which he also directed. Given the landscape of the true story that is the latter, Oscar-winning film, it would have been easy to lean into the undoubtedly surefire comparisons Stillwater would get to the Amanda Knox story. Before even seeing it, she took issues with McCarthy’s film. Sure, the stories do share a premise—but that is where the comparisons should begin and end.
McCarthy, Hinchey, and Bidegain have delivered a screenplay that is firmly about family and the various forms that the word can take in the 21st century. Of course, its heartbeat is pounding from the murder mystery that drives its bloodstream.
In the end, whether it is Virginie and Maya or Bill and Allison—Stillwater is about your clan and the lengths you would go to ensure their safety, peace of mind, and ability to lead a happy life.
Breslin has quite the character arc given to her in that spectacular script. The actress, Little Miss Sunshine herself is able to dig deep and deliver a performance as the “found guilty murderer,” stuck in prison woman that could have been quite two-dimensional in the hands of any other actor. Instead, she more than provides an emotive tether for the audience to connect with and hold on to as she and Bill work on their relationship while simultaneously working on her case. Breslin and Damon are terrific together. Good thing, because if they weren’t, the entire Stillwater premise wouldn’t work as well as it does.
An Alchemy of Viewpoints is the Stillwater Blu-ray bonus feature to commence your deep dive into the extras of McCarthy’s fantastic film. This featurette finds the cast of Stillwater waxing poetic about their characters and what specifically they did as thespians (through research) to find the truest portrayal possible. What becomes clear through these interviews is the connection each actor and actress felt to this story and how the filmmaking experience was a deeply personal one.
An American in Marseilles: The Locations of Stillwater is a top-notch featurette on the locations utilized in the French seaside city. There is an unspoken authenticity that seems to come through the pores of McCarthy’s latest and part of that had to come from filming on location and not some soundstage in London or Los Angeles. The cast admits as much and talks so endearingly lovingly about filming in Marseilles, don’t be surprised if one Googles Marseilles when all is said and done.
What is fascinating is the choice of the film’s title. Other than a few moments at the opening of the film, the entire experience centers on the French city, not the Oklahoma titular locale. One will see why McCarthy chose the moniker he did for his film in the most brilliant of ways.
Lastly, experience the brilliance of the storyteller With Curiosity & Compassion: Director Tom McCarthy. Not only the cast but several souls working behind the camera, talk about the magic of McCarthy. What becomes clear is that the filmmaker has an innate wonder about life and the world that drives his stories. Stillwater is not like anything he has done previously, but it does do something extraordinary. It illustrates that there is nothing—subject matter-wise—that he cannot manage. His name alone on a film gets a viewing.
Film Grade: A-
Bonus Features: B+