CUSTODY (Jusqu’à la
garde) A
France (93 mi) 2017 d: Xavier Legrand
France (93 mi) 2017 d: Xavier Legrand
Winner of the Best Director award at Venice, the film is an
extension of an earlier short film about a woman fleeing from an abusive
husband, JUST BEFORE LOSING EVERYTHING (2013) that was nominated for an Academy
Award. The director, who was himself a child actor in Louis Malle’s
AU REVOIR LES ENFANTS (1987), uses the same actors as the quarreling parents,
Léa Drucker as the wife, Miriam, and Denis Ménochet as the husband Antoine,
opening in an extended child custody courtroom scene that plays out in real time,
with Miriam contending abuse and physical violence, with the court reading a
compelling letter written by her 12-year old son Julien, who is not in the
court, where he wants no further contact with his father. While
there is no physical evidence presented, there is a depiction of an
over-controlling husband who still wants to possess his wife, refusing to
accept the marital separation, even parking his car (and sleeping inside)
directly in front of her home as an intimidation tactic, where she and her son,
along with an older daughter who also wants no contact, but is about to turn
age 18, so custody is not really a factor, fear for his continued presence in
the home, asking for full custody. Antoine’s lawyer bristles at this
over-dramatic, one-sided view, thoroughly disputing its accuracy, citing
manipulation and a lack of any evidence, claiming Julien’s letter is a product
of his mother’s brainwashing, as he has an excellent relationship with his
son. While the lawyers present their cases without any inherent
emotion, speaking strictly legalese, where the audience sympathy shifts first
from one side to the other, exactly as the judge hears the case, yet it’s clear
from the outset that whatever decision the judge makes, rulings matter, as
children’s lives are affected by the outcome. It’s only later, when
some semblance of normalcy has returned, that Miriam receives a call informing
her of the court decision, as the judge awarded joint
custody. Literally within seconds, Antoine pulls up in his car and
starts honking his horn, calling Miriam on the phone and demanding to see
Julien (Thomas Gioria). With the family cowering inside, they try
stalling, but have little recourse but to release him, where Julien can be seen
meekly walking out to the car.
It’s a riveting set-up, as both sides are clearly presented,
with viewers willing to be objective, though sympathies lie with Julien, as
he’s placed in an awkward and obviously uncomfortable situation, basically
defenseless, with no protection, where he’s all alone against the world.
Initially he’s completely shut down, looking terrified, refusing to respond to
his father, fending off questions, mostly inquiries about his mother, where the
clear implication is Antoine is trying to get dirt on his mother, but Julien is
smart enough to fend him off. When bringing him to a dinner with his
own parents, Julien flourishes in their company, as they simply adore him and
shower him with affection, something he clearly appreciates. But
over time, Antoine begins bullying Julien, losing his patience and his temper,
going ballistics when Miriam moves to another apartment and he can’t find her,
trying to browbeat Julien to get information. What’s interesting in
these scenes is how the perspective shifts to Julien’s point of view,
especially as he observes his father in meltdown mode, literally cringing in
front of us, where he’s painfully uncomfortable. The claustrophobia
of shooting those scenes from a front seat vantage point adds an element of
fear from physical attack, as the emotionally explosive man is so close to his
son, it would be easy enough to strike him. Because the pattern
continues, with Antoine literally interrogating his son for information, Julien
starts blowing him off, taking offense, using cuss words, where it’s clear the
father has no intention of actually “spending time” with his son and instead
wants to use him as a sacrificial pawn. This is evident when Julien
wants to go to his sister’s 18th birthday party, which happens to fall on a
weekend when Antoine has custody, promising he’ll let him go, but only if he
gets something in return. Initially seeming amenable, but growing
irate when things don’t go his way, Antoine eventually blows his stack,
returning him back home straightaway, as if spending any time at all is a waste
of time. Using Julien as a battering ram in a marital dispute is
simply horrific, where we can read on his face how Julien feels, used as some
kind of go between that can be smacked around if he doesn’t provide the
information his father wants, who then goes back on his word, clearly punishing
him, refusing permission to attend his own sister’s birthday
party.
There’s an interesting development with Julien’s older
sister Joséphine (Mathilde Auneveux), a music student who meets a love interest
on the sly, another music student, lying to her mother about attending meetings
or classes when in fact she is wandering around on the loose. This
little aside is not at all uncommon, and may be a rush to freedom, an attempt
to eradicate the pain of an abusive household by immediately attaching herself
to another relationship, which may or may not be healthy. At the
same time, Antoine continues his incessant self-serving questioning of Julien,
rudely giving him the third degree, clearly crossing the line of dinner
conversation, until eventually Antoine’s own father has had enough, snapping at
him, “You don’t make the rules around here.” Antoine only grows more
belligerent, now mad at everybody and everything, until his father literally
kicks him out, finding him too unstable, and an embarrassment as a father,
doing what he can to protect his grandson. And therein lies the crux
of the problem, as who is making the rules? The court attempted to
intervene and provide a reasonable solution, but that continually placed Julien
in danger, as he’s regularly alone with his ill-tempered father, while Miriam
is not there, and still has no proof, but only hears what Julien tells her,
while Antoine answers to no one but himself. Through his father’s
imposing physical presence, eventually Julian makes a tiny mistake,
accidentally revealing the neighborhood where his family has moved to in a
scene that unravels in dreadful fashion, revealing the obsessional mind of a
stalker who simply won’t take no for an answer, finally arriving at Miriam’s
front door, pleading his case, claiming he’s a changed man. Frozen
with fear, she says as little as possible, not wanting to provoke
him. As if in reward, Antoine relents, allowing Julien permission to
attend the party, which is a giant bash at some non-descript, rented hall
filled with a hundred invited guests all drinking and having fun. In
something of a complete mood shift, Joséphine walks up to the stage microphone
and starts singing “Proud Mary” with her boyfriend on guitar, a slow and
gentle, almost polite rendition before a white audience that couldn’t be more
of a sleepy contrast to the original, which is sexy and furiously
energetic, Ike
& Tina Turner Proud Mary - YouTube (4:50), literally one of the
greatest shows on earth, but also a product of one of the most abusive
relationships in rock ‘n’ roll history. What follows is simply
astounding, one of the creepiest and most terrifying finale’s seen all year, as
the film veers more and more out of control, eventually entering John Carpenter
territory from HALLOWEEN (1978), an edge-of-your-seat thriller, becoming the
definitive movie on joint custody agreements gone haywire.
