It is the story of a film being made by Mattias Schoenarts, a former boxer and father. This man meets Stephanie (Marion Cotyard) when he saves her from a fight in a nightclub. Stephanie goes through a terrible incident that left Stephanie confined in a wheelchair. Now, Matthias continues to help restore Stephanie's desire to live again.
"Rust" has some lovely scenes - Alain carrying Stephanie out to the sea - but it seems to wander off in search of something it already has, and in wandering, it loses its way.
...while all the admittedly well-wrought details engage us on an intellectual level and keep us watching, the film doesn't linger in the imagination the way truly great cinema does
Built like an old, beat-up bomber - not necessarily the sleekest or most reliable, but perfectly engineered to drop emotional projectiles on its audience.
Audiard visits a physicality that isn't necessarily female or male, but of the body, and toward the body, as in Cotillard's wide, lidded eyes when she watches him punching, thumping and bleeding in illegal bare-fisted takedown fights.
A slow meander through the lives of two very different people who make a connection. Often difficult to watch because it is raw emotion and pain coming at you from all corners, it is still fascinating because of two intriguing performances.
