Matt Damon Shines in Stillwater

AUGUST 6

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Matt Damon (Bill) with Camille Cotton (Virginie) deliver layered performances in Stillwater.

With its surprising tonal shifts and slow reveals (and unfortunately slack middle section), Stillwater could have been fairly dismissible. But in the mostly confident hands of writerdirector Tom McCarthy, the movie transcends both its genre inspirations and its disparate narrative threads to have real and lasting resonance.

McCarthy, who won an Oscar for co-writing the acclaimed Spotlight (which he also directed), has made his reputation by creating complex, people-focused dramas that explore topical issues through the lens of compelling characters. He seems to revel in stories and characters that thwart the expectations of filmgoers who want their dramas to conclude wrapped up with a pretty bow. His stories are messy, non-linear, and sometimes even frustrating, because we want the tidy resolution in our movies that often eludes us in real life. McCarthy declines to provide that simplistic outcome.

The director is well served by the nuanced, layered performances of Matt Damon, Abigail Breslin, Camille Cottin, and the winsome Lilou Siauvaud as nine-year-old Maya. Damon, whose appealing persona has made him a versatile, bankable star in the Bourne movies and The Martian, does some of his most subtle and convincing work as Bill, evoking the character through quiet moments and small gestures. Cottin provides assured counterbalance to Damon.

One final note, McCarthy makes another decision in telling this story that defies Hollywood convention: substantial parts of the film are in subtitled French. It’s another way that the screenwriter-director underscores the main character’s outsider status, by making us share in his cultural estrangement.

Stillwater is a strange amalgamation of thriller and melodrama, and it is likely not to satisfy strict devotees of either genre. But I found the film thought-provoking and substantial with a payoff that comes not from a cathartic victory of the protagonist, but from his bittersweet journey of discovery.