When it comes to Claire Denis, the word I think of is “elliptical.” The opening of Trouble Every Day (2001) begins with a couple kissing in a car at night, a couple who are not even characters in the film. We also see the Seine river at night, the water lapping under street light. A quartet of characters are introduced to us and we are left to figure out ourselves what their connections are and what is going on, which will only be tangentially answered halfway through.
Two couples. Americans (Vincent Gallon and Tricia Vessey) on their honeymoon flying to Paris. The French couple we need more information about to fully understand, and only familiarity with genre codes can clarify. A dead truck driver in a field. Beatrice Dalle, blood on her face. Alex Descas covering her up and digging a grave for the corpse. I think it’s interesting when Claire Denis approaches genre material, like neo-noir (Bastards) and sci-fi (High Life), in her idiosyncratic style. Trouble Every Day is connected to the horror genre and it’s main marketing image is of Dalle covered in blood, an image not too far away from the European horror the 1970s and directors like Jean Rollin. There’s also a connection to the new extremity movement. But Trouble Every Day is more of a mood piece than there is a lot of actual horror. The few moments of violence are really quite disturbing, through the unfolding intimacy and the shrieks of pain. Are they vampires, are they cannibals? We have one character in each couple who have a compulsion and it seems that is Denis’ interest here, how devouring another is a metaphor for animalistic desire.
With cinematographer Agnes Godard, the body is explored in a very different way that is unique to Denis. We get a sense of the tactile nature of bodies but also in extreme moments how they can be ripped and torn out. I thought the film was alluring and languid, ultimately leaving one in a melancholic, agitated state. How the characters that are charged with desire are never fully connected to their partners. The sense of a double life, of wanting something that the other cannot provide. In this way, the film connects with Denis’ more recent films like Both Sides Of The Blade, the way that Juliette Binoche’s character is obsessive and pulled apart, just without the blood and guts.
As with many Claire Denis movies, Tindersticks provide the soundtrack and create the sultry and sad atmosphere where moments of desire are punctured with unshakeable tension. Available to stream on Mubi. Recommended.
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