Harrowing and intense from the first scenes to the end, Angel Face (Gueule d’ange) is the debut film of Vanessa Filho, presented in the Cannes Film Festival. This French production has the Oscar-winning actress, Marion Cotillard (Marlène), and the adorable Ayline Aksoy-Etaix (Elli) as protagonists of a drama marked by an unstable relationship between a careless mom and her 8-year-old daughter. Above all, this movie portrays a child’s efforts to be seen and to receive love.
After Marlène’s marriage ceremony falls apart, the single mom sinks further into her addictions and depression, facing loneliness and lack of money. Living in a small apartment by the French Riviera, we see Elli locked alone during her school vacations, never playing with the other children. All this happens until Marlène decides to leave her daughter behind for a man she has just met at a party. From this, the little girl is forced to take great responsibilities while she’s emotionally shaken.
Image source: IMDBÂ
Elli is bound to grow up very fast and ends up following her mother’s bad habits as a way to approach her. Abandoned abruptly, she has difficulty connecting with her schoolmates and soon begins being bullying. It’s sad to watch that the girl demonstrates an aptitude for arts and theater, but doesn’t have any support from her teachers, colleagues or family. One day she finds the image of a father in one person, and also a caring figure to fill her voids: played by Alban Lenoir, Julio is a former cliff diver who is the only one in the plot that gives an attention to the child.
For not being able to fit perfectly and taking care of herself, Elli starts drinking and everything from that moment begins to collapse and messing with her psychologically. Her classmates make jokes about her scent of booze, her inappropriate makeup, and a boy about her age tries to take advantage of her fragility in pursuit of sexual favors.
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In Filho’s film, all the elements are often used to show the impact of the choices made by the main characters, but also to evidence our gaze charged with prejudice to these women who live for their own lucky. Through the film, it’s hard to stop yourself from judging the paths that both characters follow. It’s clear that a woman who doesn’t have a solid marriage and a permanent job is considered an embarrassment. Add to that the alcoholism and a life full of parties, Marlène obviously couldn’t be seen with good eyes, and her abandoned daughter wouldn’t have many great opportunities.
Angel Face isn’t an easy movie to watch. The parents outside school judge Marlène for wearing a tiny pink dress, the cashier at the supermarket shows disgust for the mother who doesn’t have enough money, Julio has no idea on how do deal with an abandoned girl because he is also a lonely man. It is, actually, a broken fairy tale produced to urge reflections on vices, negligence, and, especially, to criticize the behavior of which, as a society, we don’t bother to look at the neighbor with empathy. It’s painful, but also brilliantly done.