Partir ***

Director: Catherine Corsini
Cast: Kristin Scott Thomas, Sergi López, Yvan Attal
Bernard Blancan, Alexandre Vidal, Daisy Broom

With the concept of a romantic novel and the execution of a realist work-with strokes of Truffaut- Partir proves to be a perfect showcase for the renaissance of Kristin Scott Thomas who, once again in French, takes hold of the screen with melancholic ferocity.
She plays Suzanne, a well to do woman living with her husband Samuel (Attal) and children (Vidal and Broom) after whom she looks day after day.
When she starts renovations on her house she meets Spanish construction worker Ivan (López) who she immediately likes. After a strange accident she begins to get close to him and soon they begin a torrid love affair for which she's willing to leave everything.
From this point on the film becomes a simple, but never simplistic, study of bourgeoisie ennui and how the middle classes turn into the labels they fear so much.
On her own, Suzanne has to get back to a job she hasn't practiced in two decades (while she filled the role of "wife" and "mother") and discovers that love is not enough to live on (as she probably was taught before her marriage).
Director Corsini is a bit condescending towards the social class she criticizes and apparently forgets to create profound triggers to the events that unfold. When the film starts Suzanne doesn't seem to be miserable and her passive aggressive rebellion isn't convincing enough to justify her unorthodox actions.
Perhaps Corsini was less preoccupied with intent and had set her mind on pure emotion which gives Suzanne the characteristics of an Emma Bovary or a Lady Chatterley.
Thomas makes the most out of this and delivers some of the best work of her career. Hostile and detached in scenes with Attal (who is remarkable despite the film's attempt to make him a villain) she finds herself completely transformed in her moments with López (again channeling raw male sexuality).
"You act like a whore in heat" exclaims Samuel as Suzanne flees a family dinner to meet her lover.
At that moment it's difficult not to pass judgment on her character but as soon as she meets Ivan, her face lights up with contagious happiness.
Few actresses can do what Thomas does with her face; she only needs to lift an eyebrow to evoke heartbreaking disgust and a smile to show us how one surrenders to happiness.
"This is the happiest day of my life" she says in English to Ivan during a rapturous encounter; even if he doesn't comprehend the words, he knows what she's talking about.

Ricky **1/2

Director: François Ozon
Cast: Alexandra Lamy, Sergi López, Mélusine Mayance, Arthur Peyret

Consistent with his inconsistency as a director François Ozon's "Ricky" is a strange tale of loss, families and what lies beneath done in an ambiguous, sometimes ineffective way.
The film starts as Katie (Lamy) worriedly talks to a social worker about the possibility of giving her child up.
We go back in time to the time when Katie worked in a chemical factory and lived alone with her daughter Lisa (Mayance). One day at the factory Katie meets Paco (López) a new employee who instantly clicks with her.
Before long they have moved in together and are expecting a baby. However when Ricky (Peyret) is born, they realize he has a special ability: he can fly.
His ability soon destabilizes the familiar structure and all of them will have to deal with the unexpected.
The film mostly suffers from tonal discrepancies as Ozon tries hard to decide where exactly he wants to take the story. Interestingly most of these problems are because of Ricky.
The relationship between Katie and Paco is fascinating because the director captures it using silence and little things that evoke the restrained work he's so good at, but when Ricky's put into the equation they go against coherent reasoning and act out of some forced nature.
"Ricky" can't work as a drama with magic realism or as a full out fantasy movie, which is why it's at its best when it concentrates on an inconspicuous character: Lisa.
Ozon, accidentally or not, crafts a cunning portrait of sibling jealousy and the movie might be a manifestation of Lisa's deeper thoughts.
Before Ricky is born we see her wearing a fairy costume before her mom leaves her to go on a date, then once Paco lives with them she demands the wing from the chicken they're carving.
Can it be that Ricky has nothing special about him, but Lisa is so jealous and envious of the attention he stole from her, that she sees him as this wonderful creature?
The grownups in the film usually take her for granted and Ozon almost does the same, completely unaware that she's becoming the unexpected center of attention.