Life can be complicated, at least more complicated than it seems on the surface. Just another way of ‘Still waters run deep.’ This proves especially true for our characters in ‘Stillwater,’ starring Matt Damon and Abigail Breslin.
The Plot – Stillwater
Amanda Knox
Stillwater is clearly influenced by, but not ‘Based Upon A True Story’ by, the Amanda Knox case.
The names have all been changed, and the locations are different, but the basic premise of Stillwater clearly still takes influence from the real life case.
Marseille
Bill Baker struggles to find employment as an out-of-work ‘Roughneck’ in the Oil Industry, the guys who drill the holes. Baker’s found some work at construction sites and cleaning up after tornados, but nothing to replace his old job.
Baker, played by Matt Damon, faces an even larger hurdle as he heads overseas to visit his daughter Allison, played by Abigail Breslin. Baker is headed to Marseille, France; where Allison is in prison.
Convicted by a court of law, Allison is five years into her prison sentence for causing the death of her college roommate, who also happened to be her girlfriend. Allison continues to maintain her innocence, insisting they search for the man that stabbed her girlfriend.
Along the way, Bill meets a French woman, played by Camille Cottin, and her daughter, played by Lilou Siauvaud, staying in the room next door at his hotel. Slightly annoyed by them at first, Bill soon finds Virginie and her daughter Maya to be his greatest assets.
During a visit, Allison asks her Dad to give her lawyer a letter written in French. Bill sees the lawyer, but she refuses to help Allison further.
When Bill visits Allison again, he can’t bring himself to tell her the truth. Instead, Bill tells her the lawyer has agreed to help; and he asks Virginie to read and translate the letter. Bill will find the man who killed his daughter’s roommate, himself.
The Good – Stillwater
Ground Level Storytelling
Much of the plot for ‘Stillwater’ happens before the movie even starts.
An American college student studying abroad starts dating her roommate, who then dies. The American woman accuses a man that was there with them, but she gets convicted by a court of law instead — all while newspapers on both sides of the ocean go wild.
Yes, this has more than a few similarities to the Amanda Knox case, but that took place in Italy, and this movie takes place in France. And, for the purpose of this film, that plot takes place five years in the past.
Instead, we follow Bill Baker in the present, as he tries to get his daughter out of prison, five years after her conviction. We see Bill in a foreign land, not knowing the language, trying to search down the male suspect.
Bill, the stranger in a strange land, doesn’t know the legal system, the culture he’s trying to navigate, or even how to communicate outside of his native tongue. Gradually, Bill must learn all three if he hopes to see Allison set free.
The ground level perspective we see through Bill’s eyes shows us just how daunting the task he faces in saving his daughter.
A Different Damon
While Matt Damon has an ‘every man’ quality to him and he’s played a wide variety of characters throughout his career, Bill Baker is a character unlike any I’ve seen Damon playing before.
Bill Baker is a blue collar worker from a really red state. A recovering alcoholic with a thick southern accent, Damon disappears into this character, even changing the way he stands to get into character.
Damon’s Baker isn’t the genius from ‘Good Will Hunting‘, the future President from ‘The Adjustment Bureau‘, or the trained secret agent from The Bourne trilogy. This Damon character is just a man — a man whose only standout skill is the love for his daughter.
At one point, Baker even faces cultural descrimination. One of the French artists in the film sarcastically asks if Baker voted for the former President; to which Bill plainly replies that he lost the right to vote when he was sent to prison. The artiste’s smirk quickly fades.
The Bad – Stillwater
Allison’s Story
Overall, Stillwater is a well put together film, with no glaring weaknesses. This may be a bit nitpicky, but Allison’s story gets put on the back burner for much of the film.
After the first act, much of the focus of the story shifts to Bill’s developing relationship with Virginie and his friendship with Maya. We even see Bill take Maya to a Soccer game, with only occasional looks in at Allison’s journey.
While Allison’s story still motivates Bill’s actions, her predicament becomes mere background for Bill’s story.
Director Tom McCarthy only looks in periodically, despite major plot points in Allison’s story happening off camera. Yes, this is so we can see the growth of character that Bill experiences after living so much time in France; but the relative level of minutia of Bill’s story compared to major plot twists involving Allison is noticeable.
McCarthy tells this story really well, but by bringing Bill’s story to the foreground, Allison’s story slowly rots along with her in prison.
The Review – Stillwater
For anyone who followed Amanda Knox‘s story over the years, it’s impossible for it not to come to mind while watching Stillwater. This overlap is not to the point of distracting you from enjoying the film, but it is worth noting as this fictional film tiptoes around the real life inspiration.
Matt Damon delves deeper into this character than any I’ve seen him do since ‘Talented Mr. Ripley.’ While he dons the overtly masculine armor of his character’s occupation; Damon’s performance as Bill is much more subtle and restrained as the film goes on.
Damon’s normally distinctive voice and mannerisms are nowhere to be seen as he brings Bill to life. Bill’s more quiet demeanor, and more physical presence project a straightforward and uncomplicated character. Bill’s clear purpose and singular focus drive the film forward without distraction, and keep the pace from stagnating.
The location shooting and production design feels authentic to a non-tourism view of France. You see the age of the city, the working class parts of town, and the austere feeling of the justice system. Yet, the beauty of the city and this story shines through even when doing laundry and fixing the kitchen sink.
Not a perfect film, but solid storytelling beginning to end. Good character work, and an interesting look at cultural stereotypes. Worth a watch!
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Score
Score
Review Nation Score
Stillwater features deep character work from Matt Damon and organic Marseille locations in a story influenced by Amanda Knox.
