Friday, April 4, 2014

The Immigrant (2013)

Director: James Gray. Cast: Marion Cotillard, Joaquin Phoenix, Jeremy Renner. 120 min. Rated R. Drama.

New York, 1920s. Two Polish sisters land in Ellis Island; one is held in quarantine for tuberculosis, and the other (Cottilard) struggles as a prostitute to pay for her treatment. With Darius Khondji's beautiful sepia-colored cinematography portraying a "Dickens-in-NYC" story, this film will dissipate any rosy picture you had of immigrants coming to Ellis Island to build their lives in the land of dreams. Don't expect any sophisticated twist, because the simple story and incredible performances by Cotillard and Phoenix are compelling enough. Makes you wish they made more movies like this.

PS: Thank you, Maryam, for the great recommendation of this otherwise obscure film.

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