Written and directed by Anna Cazenave Cambet, based on the book of the same name by Constance Debré. At the end of summer, Clémence tells her ex-husband that she’s had relationships with women. Her life is turned upside down when he files to strip her of their son’s custody. Then begins a struggle of several years for Clémence to defend her right to be a mother and a woman – free to make her own choices. Starring: Vicky Krieps, Antoine Reinartz, Monia Chokri, Viggo Ferreira Redier and Aurélia Petit.
Anna Cazenave Cambet makes a unique and key decision with Love Me Tender, which is to explore this story of a fight for custody but not focus entirely on it. It’s unusual to find a film which looks at the mother’s life in its entirety, not simply her love for her child and her unwavering commitment to being a part of their life, whatever it takes, but also the life she has outside of her child. It sounds very simple but it’s actually a departure from the norm and in that sense may put some people off but it’s a choice made for all the right reasons.
It starts out on such great footing, capturing the free spirited, intellectual, affectionate, fluid nature of Clémence (Vicky Krieps). As time goes on Cambet strongly captures the deep sadness at the heart of this story, as well as in the latter half a genuine brokenness. Both in the sense of Clémence’s heartbreak and her husband Laurent’s (Antoine Reinartz) clear mental illness and toxicity. As well as nicely showing how homophobia is underlying in a lot of the obstacles which Clémence faces and how people interact with her. However, coming in at over two hours, it tends to draw itself out further than it needed to.
There’s a meandering, slow pacing at work and to a certain extent that works but the further it progresses, it becomes a hinderance. Especially as the choices that Cambet makes for Love Me Tender’s ending are not the most definitive or satisfying. They’re all choices that do work but simply not as impactfully as the film had the potential for. Particularly as the story of Laurent using Paul (Viggo Ferreira Redier) to get revenge on Clémence is captured very well, it’s heartrending, infuriating and genuinely disgusting behaviour.
Something that’s portrayed well by Antoine Reinartz,he was an excellent choice for this role, both for how keenly he captures the manipulative, pathetic nature of Laurent and how he and Vicky Krieps perfectly create that fierce animosity without needing to be overly dramatic for the most part. Krieps unsurprisingly gives an excellent performance filled with complex emotions, it’s charming, vulnerable and resilient.
Love Me Tender is a slow-burn story of suffering and patience, of one woman facing a spiteful partner and an intensely complicated bureaucratic system, to retain a relationship with her son. It’s moving and very purposefully frustrating, Anna Cazenave Cambet does a great job of exploring Clémence’s life, not just as a mother which feels quite unusual. Vicky Krieps is wonderful as always and has a terrific supporting cast behind her. It simply feels like the film didn’t take the most effective route to tell this story, it makes its point well but does so in perhaps an overly restrained, slow fashion. Ultimately, while being a worthwhile watch, it loses the more powerful impact it could have had.
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