Tom McCarthy and Matt Damon have been on a weirdly similar career trajectory since the 2010s started. They both peaked in 2015 (Damon was awesome in the Martian, and McCarthy was the creative force behind Best Picture Winner Spotlight), but have had setbacks and only small successes since. Stillwater was a hope that both would help each other rebound to get back to those 2015. Instead, Stillwater is like their 2021 selves, working in fits and starts but not really progressing anywhere spectacular.
Inspired by Amanda Knox’s harrowing tale, Damon plays Bill Baker, a blue collar oil worker living his simple American life of Oklahoma State Cowboys football, work, mom made sandwiches, and sleep. There’s one terrible wrench in his simple life though: his daughter Allison (Abagail Breslin) is in a Marseille, France prison, allegedly for murdering her girlfriend Lina. Bill visits Allison every few months, to try to help get the case open again. On one trip, Allison provides a new lead Bill tries to tackle soliciting the help of single mother Virginie (Camille Cottin) and her plucky daughter Maya (Lilou Siauvaud) who know the language and city way better than ‘Murica Bill ever could.
Here’s a tip for everyone. When you see the “Written by” in the credits, “&” is fine, but “and” should raise red flags. That “and” means that Tom McCarthy’s team and one other team wrote the script of the movie; makes sense here, because Stillwater feels like two movies stitched together, one good, and one bad. The good one is about broken or damaged people finding peace with their surroundings. Bill, Virginie, Allison, and Maya each have parts of their life that are unfulfilled. Watching the 4 of them try to find tranquility is compelling stuff. The best parts revolve around Bill learning to assimilate to his new Marseille surroundings. Outside of the obvious language barrier, the more compelling character study is Bill’s cultural barriers he has to let go to navigate southern France’s legal system, detective work, etc. Virginie learns a few lessons on what makes a good person or not, and Maya takes in a little American culture to make a new friend. Out of Allison’s nightmare bursts this fragile but loving triangle of unlikely people that gives Bill more than one life goal to consider, something he hadn’t done in years. Competing with that movie for time is the quest to find Lina’s real killer. That story derails all character development and trust the movie builds in the people we enjoyed seeing grow and evolve, to focus on Allison (barely onscreen) and her quest for justice. Frustratingly, the movie has that first, “finding peace” ending all wrapped up, but because we need to deal with the justice elements, we have another hour of story to get through that’s less interesting.
But props to the actors, giving their all to sell this story. Damon remains the charismatic lead he always is, this time with a southern accent in southern France. He’s going for quiet seething rage and simplicity, making Bill a loveable but infuriatingly self-destructive man. Abagail Breslin, though not in the movie much, does the best she can; she gives the movie a nice dose of emotional heft. But the standouts are the excellent French women. Camille Cottin, even with a “manic pixie French girl” script, stands out with her charm and effortless talent, holding her own across from Damon and even carrying him on some occasions. But the breakout is going to be young Lilou Siauvaud, Damon’s plucky young co-star. The movie builds to this giant emotional climax, with Siauvaud of all people riveting the scene with her performance. Pretty amazing, considering this is her first movie and she’s, you know, 9 effing years old.
You gotta love the French. Being the first place to introduce the world to movies, acting must be in their blood. I look forward to more Camille Cottin later this year, and even if this is Lilou Siauvaud’s only movie, she will get free drinks at any French Tabac she goes to, telling the tale of how she outacted Matt Damon.