Renoir

Overview

"My whole life I got tangled up in complications. Today, I simplify matters," announces Pierre-Auguste Renoir (Michel Bouquet), and it seems director Gilles Bourdos tends to agree. Detailing the final years of the French Impressionist and those around him, Renoir falls short as a shallow and over-simplified biopic.

In his Cagnes-sur-Mer retreat in the southeast of France, the 74-year-old Renoir is crippled by arthritis and tended to by a troupe of dedicated female servants who each began as a model for the late artist. After the death of his beloved wife (though apparently not beloved enough to keep him from infidelity), Renoir finds new inspiration when a 15-year-old model that "Titian would have worshipped" hits the screen.

Sassy and ambitious, Andrée (Christa Theret), aka Dedee, refuses to meet the same fate as the models before her and for the most part sees through Renoir — basically just a self-absorbed tit — and his lack of genuine care for others.

Though bratty at times, Dedee is otherwise the most likeable character and developed more than any other. But alas, her hyper-sensual representation lets the character down, occasionally reducing her to a frustratingly typical product of the male gaze. Nonetheless bewitching and enchanting, Dedee captivates both Renoir and his son Jean (Vincent Rottiers), who's returned home wounded from WWI.

But the predictable love affair that ensues should have had a deeper focus. Jean promises that the pair will embark on a career in the burgeoning film industry. Though a far more interesting topic, we never learn how their relationship fell apart 16 years later and are left wondering how he died a prominent filmmaker — with titles Grand Illusion and The Rules of the Game under his belt — and her alone in poverty.

Unfortunately, a bare script that's self-consciously romantic and wannabe poignant leaves the actors with little to work with and viewers little to follow. In its 111 minutes almost no drama or tension unfolds and every word spoken is either meaningless or starry-eyed.

Thankfully, Taiwanese cinematographer Mark Ping Bing Lee (In the Mood for Love) redeems Renoir with lighting and picture that's splendid and majestic. Despite a numbing script, Renoir is worth the watch just for its beauty. No, seriously, it's gorgeous; an impressionist artwork brought to life.