Clouds Of Sils Maria

Running time: 123 mins

Juliette Binoche (The English Patient, Chocolat), Chloë Grace Moretz (Kickass), and Kristen Stewart (Twilight) mesmerize in this complex drama about the private lives of starlets. Prolific director Olivier Assayas' (Irma Vep, Paris, je t'aime) latest richly explores the female psyche through an impressively multi-layered tale of the interwoven lives of three women at various stages of life. Veteran actress Maria (Binoche) is offered a role in the revival of the play that launched her career twenty years ago. Only this time around, Maria is given the less glamorous part of the older woman while her previous role, the sultry, scheming young girl, is reprised by provocative, rising starlet Jo-Anne (Moretz). Maria reluctantly accepts and retreats to the Swiss Alps with her loyal assistant, Valentine (Stewart) to prepare. However, as the power dynamics between these women grow increasingly tense, life, seemingly, begins to imitate art. - Vivian Yuen