Passages, 2023.
Co-written and directed by Ira Sachs.
Starring Franz Rogowski, Adèle Exarchopoulos, and Ben Whishaw.
SYNOPSIS:
On the last day of his shoot in Paris, film director Tomas sleeps with a woman and proudly tells his husband about it. A passionate, jealous, and narcissistic relationship unfolds between Tomas, Agathe, and Martin.
If perhaps slighter than Ira Sachs’ more recent work, Passages offers an insightful, bluntly honest window into the emotional machinations of the most typical of romantic cinematic conventions – the ever-dreaded love triangle.
In Paris, German filmmaker Tomas (Franz Rogowski) lives with his husband Martin (Ben Whishaw) while embarking on a love affair with a young woman working on his new film, Agathe (Adèle Exarchopoulos). An evidently wounded Martin consequently starts his own affair, stirring Tomas’ paradoxical jealousy in the process, while Tomas’ wavering faithfulness to Agathe causes her much heartache. This all ensures a messy web of emotions fire in every which direction, as is only further complicated by some unexpected news.
Right from its very first scene, Sachs’ film pulls no punches at all regarding Tomas’ prickliness; he micro-manages every aspect of his film to an obsessive, infuriating extent, as is unsurprisingly reflected in the commanding nature of his relationships. Not to pathologise him too bluntly – because Sachs’ film is so far above that – but he is a man who wants to control everything.
At first it might be tempting to deem Tomas a cruel person, given the maelstrom of hurt he leaves in both of his romantic entanglements – a man seemingly content to drop grenades wherever he goes. But Tomas is himself exploring his own sexuality, and from his skewed perspective might hope that being so matter-of-fact with Martin may ultimately be the healthiest path forward. That’s not to say that Tomas isn’t selfish, but Sachs’ screenplay cannily teases out his multi-faceted nature.
And it’s a testament to Franz Rogowski’s robust performance that Tomas is so believable and compulsively watchable despite his spikiness. A caustic asshole who becomes a more curious character as the story zips along, he feels authentic and recognisable as a human being attempting to grow while not caring nearly enough about the destruction left in his wake.
Alongside him, Ben Whishaw is quietly haunting as a man clearly deeply pained by what’s left unspoken. His severe tone and clipped affect speak volumes where his voice literally doesn’t. And Adèle Exarchopoulos, a decade on from her star-making turn in Blue Is the Warmest Colour, continues to be an alluring presence who wears her own hurt plainly and cuttingly across her face.
While there’s great restraint and subtlety to Sachs’ filmmaking, things build with sly intensity in the second half, once the love triangle scenario’s stakes are significantly elevated. But Sachs again sidesteps a cute outcome in favour of something darker yet more believable. Add to this some enticingly explicit sex scenes and one unforgettably, painfully awkward dinner sequence where Agathe’s parents meet Tomas, and Passages finds aching reality most everywhere.
At just 92 minutes in length, this is a fiercely concentrated character study which frankly probes the potential collateral damage of any journey of sexual discovery. It doesn’t defer to easy villainy or offer a simple get-out clause for the characters involved, and persuades all the more as a result.
Another low-key winner from Ira Sachs, this intimate, sexy drama examines the not-so-casual cruelty lovers inflict upon one another, with strong naturalistic performances from its three leads.
Flickering Myth Rating – Film: ★ ★ ★ ★ / Movie: ★ ★ ★
Shaun Munro – Follow me on Twitter for more film rambling.
Originally published August 30, 2023. Updated August 31, 2023.
