The Wait (2015)

Introduction
"The Wait" is a 2015 Italian-French drama film directed by Piero Messina and produced by Nicola Giuliano, Francesca Cima, Carlotta Calori, Viola Prestieri, and Jerome Seydoux. It stars skilled French actress Juliette Binoche and promising Italian actress Lou de Laage. The plot unfolds within the mystical blend of emotions, using an abstract however arresting expedition of motherhood and mutual relationships.

Setting and Characters
Set in a grand, rather stretching Sicilian villa, echoing with silence, miscommunication, and vast isolation, "The Wait" serves an interesting backdrop for an extreme character-driven experience. The primary characters are Anna (Juliette Binoche), a mother grieving her kid Giuseppe's death, and Jeanne (Lou de Laage), Giuseppe's French girlfriend who goes to Italy to fulfill him over Easter holidays, obliviously unaware of his demise. The supporting cast consists of Giorgio Colangeli (Pietro), Domenico Diele (Paolo), Antonio Folletto (Nicola), and Corinna Locastro (Rosa).

Plot Synopsis
"The Wait" starts with a funeral procession; the sorrowful face of Anna (Binoche), wailing calmly, dramatizes the worrying suspense that her adult child, Giuseppe, has actually passed away. Jeanne (Laage), his girlfriend, suddenly arrives at the villa with an invite from Giuseppe to invest the Easter holidays together, without a hint about the tragic occurrence. The grieving mother welcomes her within without revealing the awful news.

As the days pass, Anna and Jeanne indulge in conversation, meals, and minutes of shared friendship while awaiting Giuseppe's homecoming. The stress intensifies as Anna is reluctant to break the harsh reality to Jeanne, and with Jeanne's frustration and confusion increase with each passing moment. All the while, the enormous Siciilian villa, through its emptiness and silence, mirrors the undercurrent of sorrow, unpredictability, and shock.

Styles and Symbolism
Director Piero Messina skillfully unfolds a series of unspoken emotions through thoughtful visuals, representing silence as a significant cue to the abrupt space in Anna's life. He instills an atmosphere of doubt, delusion, yearning, and melancholy that is practically palpable. The enigmatic symphony of life and death, truth, and lies, anticipation, and anguish become key styles of the story.

Conversely, Jeanne symbolizes life, youth, and the future, while Anna embodies grief, the past, and death. The vacation rituals, specifically the religious processions symbolize resurrection and hope, while the unclear finale leaves much to analysis.

Performances and Conclusion
The performances, specifically by Juliette Binoche, are the cornerstone of "The Wait". She brings the emotional weight of the film on her shoulders, especially through her depiction of Anna's reduced grief, strength, and restlessness. Lou de Laage, as Jeanne, represents innocence and stress and anxiety extremely well, staying energetic and dynamic, emphasizing Jeanne's consistent state of waiting and hoping.

Last words, "The Wait" is an emotionally abundant, aesthetically spectacular drama that explores the characteristics of grief and hope, fact and deception, life, and death, through excellent performances and strategic meaning. Messina's superb narrative style enables space for reflection and layers of analysis, making it a rich and fulfilling seeing experience.

Top Cast