Concrete Playground

Real-life exes Vincent Lindon (Welcome) and Sandrine Kiberlain (Après vous...) generate some serious chemistry in Stéphane Brizé's heart-rending tale of star-crossed lovers. Jean (Lindon) is a small-town builder, affectionate father, loving husband and dutiful son, whose modest life is profoundly interrupted when he meets his son’s schoolteacher, the eponymous Véronique Chambon (Kiberlain). Somewhat of a drifter, she hails from Paris but seems content to move from school to school each academic year. Perhaps it is this freedom as much as her understated beauty that attracts Jean, for soon the two are deeply, unspeakably, in love.

The genius of this film is its simplicity. In adapting Eric Holder’s novel, writer/director Brizé sees silence or sparse dialogue accompany most scenes, which instead rely on the minute manoeuvres of body language and furtive looks to portray the turbulent emotional landscape. The film therefore leans totally on its two leads, who are both effortlessly able to capture the audience’s hearts through their nuanced, tender performances. Poignant without wallowing in angst, Mademoiselle Chambon is a master class in subtly and restraint, in a beautifully drawn portrait of love and liability.