Written & Directed by Marion Hill
Cast
Idella Johnson ( Bertie Carnot ), Hannah Pepper ( Lane ), Lucien Guignard ( Fred Carnot ),
Sivan Noam Shimon ( Noa )
A surprise reunion in the South of France reignites passions and jealousies between two women who were formerly polyamorous lovers.
With her feature directorial debut “Ma Belle, My Beauty,” New Orleans’ writer/helmer Marion Hill untangles the snarl of a polyamorous relationship undone. Amid a breathtaking backdrop of French vineyards and valleys is nestled the country home of newlyweds/bandmates Bertie (Idella Johnson) and Fred (Lucien Guignard). Theirs seems an enviable life of sunny days, wine-soaked nights, and making music together. But as a tour looms, Bertie has soured on singing, leaving Fred desperate for a quick fix. So, he calls in Lane (Hannah Pepper-Cunningham), who two years ago shared in their relationship as Bertie’s girlfriend. However, a lot has happened since then, including Fred and Bertie’s nuptials. So, Lane’s smooth stride back into Bertie’s life isn’t all that welcomed.
Hill’s film feels like a leisurely stroll on a hot summer day. There’s no rush to explain what exactly happened that broke up this tender trio. Instead, she allows us silent scenes where the two women take each other in, one with warmth, the other with anger. The chill melts as they tiptoe into casual conversation and a visit to the local market, where a montage of tasting and smelling is so enveloping you might feel the buttery melt of fresh cheese on your tongue. The past is not revealed in flashbacks but implied by the complicated emotions that swell over them in tugs of physical affection and stings of wounded reactions. Dinner parties and summer shindigs become emotionally fraught battlegrounds as Bertie pushes Lane away, yet cringes with jealousy when a sultry painter named Noa, (Sivan Noam Shimon) catches her eye.
The screenplay tenderly unfurls a sophisticated story of love, never letting the characters to be cheaply defined as right, wrong, or two-dimensional. Bertie’s initial coldness is given context as Lane learns of her day-to-day in France; Lane’s happy-go-lucky demeanor is complicated by reckless comments that cut deep. Meanwhile, Fred’s plotline revolves around balancing his professional obligations with her marriage’s wellbeing. Even Noa gets the opportunity to be more than a device for jealousy, revealing her emotional intelligence in a sparkling lakeside scene involving massage and passive-aggressiveness. The script and the pace give plenty of space for the characters to come to life, but Hill’s cast deserves praise for accomplishing this with such allure and verve.
Newcomer Pepper-Cunningham shares a chaotic chemistry with Johnson, so that every moment they draw close it’s hard to guess if they’ll kiss or quarrel. Her outward openness plays as the perfect foil to Johnson’s initial iciness. That façade crumbles in a fireside sing-along, where Bertie’s passion and pain take flight as a rib-rattling performance. In that magnificent moment, you might think nothing hotter could happen in this movie. You’d be wrong. The Neanderthals who fear the conversation around consent will kill excitement in both the bedroom and in love scenes will learn a spicy lesson from “Ma Belle, My Beauty.” Here, Sapphic sex involving unapologetic nudity and a strap-on is made all the hotter by whispered requests for consent.
Simply put, Hill has made a real stunner with “Ma Belle, My Beauty.” This proudly queer romantic-drama delivers a poignant exploration of polyamory, giving empathy and insight into all of its lovers…
Download Movie Ma Belle My Beauty (2021 MOVIE) with English Subtitles
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