Friday, September 13, 2019

TIFF: Seberg (2019)


We all recognize the iconic image of Jean Seberg in Jean Luc Godard's Breathless (1960) walking the streets of Paris and wearing her New York Herald Tribune shirt. For those with a richer knowledge of film history we know her film career started with a tortured performance as Joan of Arc in Saint Joan (1957) followed by a very different performance as Cecile, the bored rich kid in Bonjour Tristesse (1958), both directed by Otto Preminger. But what may not be as closely associated with Seberg is her involvement with Black Panther activist Hakim Jamal and the FBI investigation that ensued. They were relentless. Between the character assassination and the invasion of privacy, the FBI basically destroyed her. Jean Seberg called this time in her life a "nightmare" and she never fully recovered from it or the loss of her baby girl in 1970.

Written by Joe Shrapnel and Anna Waterhouse and directed Benedict Andrews, Seberg follows the story of Jean Seberg during the most difficult time of her short life. She's back in Hollywood after working in France for some years and while she wants more significant acting roles she finds herself auditioning for parts in Paint Your Wagon (1969) and Airport (1970). While traveling first class with her agent, she meets Hakim Jamal (Anthony Mackie) who bursts into the cabin demanding a better seat for Malcolm X's widow. Seberg is taken by Jamal and when the fellow Black Panther members pose in front of press upon arrival, Seberg joins in. This puts her on the radar of FBI agents Carl Kowalski (Vince Vaughn) and Jack Solomon (Jack O'Connell). As Seberg becomes politically and romantically involved with Jamal, Jack and Carl become more and more intrusive as they gather intel on Seberg. When news breaks of Jamal and Seberg's affair, officially ending her marriage to Romain Gary (Yvan Attal), Seberg becomes increasingly paranoid that someone is out to get her.

Seberg is a mixed bag of a biopic. On the one hand it's an incredibly important story and a warning to the future. This abuse of power and invasion of privacy is frightening. We should always remember what happened to Jean Seberg. But on the other hand this film felt overly conventional and a bit cheesy. Critics have praised Kristen Stewart's portrayal of Seberg and while I like her as an actress I don't think she was a right fit for the role. For me it's all in the eyes and demeanor. Stewart has the weight of the world on her shoulders, a restless spirit and a brooding countenance. Seberg had these sad, soulful, glossy eyes and a lightness of being. Even Stewart herself said that Seberg had a "sprawling energy" and director Andrews would often remind Stewart of Seberg's natural effervescence in his direction. You can see Stewart trying to capture this but it felt forced. Before the die-hard Kristen Stewart fans come at me just note that I believe Stewart really did give her all for this part but there was just a disconnect that I couldn't quite get over.

The script writing team Joe Shrapnel (grandson of Deborah Kerr) and Anna Waterhouse put in a lot of research, poring over the FBI files and including many of real techniques used by the FBI even if the agents themselves are fictional. There are plenty of classic film references in the film. Otto Preminger, although not physically in the film, is mentioned throughout as a source of early trauma for Seberg. Also Stewart recreates scenes from Breathless and Saint Joan and we see her prepare for Paint Your Wagon.


I attended a press conference for the film which you can watch on TIFF's YouTube channel. See below.


Left to right: Writers Joe Shrapnel and Anna Waterhouse, actress Kristen Stewart and director Benedict Andrews



Seberg had its North American premiere at the 2019 Toronto International Film Festival.

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