Ozon’s screenplay — derived from his own research, including interviews with members of the Lyon activist group Lift the Burden — consists of three profiles, so to speak, of the adult survivors of one predator. The movie then presents Emmanuel, played by Swann Arlaud , perhaps the most at-risk of the adult characters, a near-genius intellect whose abuse led to an unfulfilled, fraught adulthood. Ozon’s approach in “By the Grace of God” is not plain, but it is straightforward. And Ozon exerts his command of cinematic language throughout, in ways that are less immediately obvious. He crafts a film that is engrossing from the start, while building to something greater and more emotionally encompassing.

Source: New York Times October 17, 2019 11:01 UTC