walk from bedroom to bathroom
without bumping into their re-
spective antagonists.
While LaFosse never explicitly
takes sides, only the most stub-
born men’s rights activist could
fail to sympathize with Marie.
Though he never raises a hand,
make no bones about it, Boris’s
treatment of Marie is abuse,
whether intentional on his part or
not (he comes across as largely
oblivious to the damaging ef-
fect his presence is having on the
woman he once loved).
NJ STAGE 2017 - Vol. 4 No. 7
What’s saddest of all about Bo-
ris and Marie is that we get the
sense that they still love each
other; they just don’t like each
other anymore. A dance session
shared with their kids momen-
tarily reminds them of the happy
unit they once were. Afterwards,
they give in to their physical at-
traction, tearing their clothes
off. This dance scene is one of
the cinematic highlights of 2016,
telling us so much more about
the dynamic between Marie and
Boris than any of the film’s many
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