The film won the grand jury prize at Cannes and best acting awards for both of its leads, and it drew packed crowds at art-house theaters across Europe and the United States.
All of which somewhat undermines the film's apparently open-minded attitude toward its leads, although it's a credit to Exarchopoulos and Seydoux that not even this cloud can overshadow the weighty achievements of their believably intense and emotionally draining performances.
It is well served by its leads, particularly the rumble-voiced Cordero.
The role is notable not just for its leads gender, but the message it sends: the wife of a sex scandal-plagued politician, going back to her job as a lawyer, taking the lead in court and at home.
I have a feeling Hamilton, as much as it depends on the chemistry among its leads, will be more like Wicked (and many other long-running shows), as long as the roles are well cast in the future.
And so the film is left to the devices of its leads, who dispense with courtesies and slug it out with loaded principles.
It's a modest drama with relatively few surprises, but that's not to say it is predictable or rote, as it lives or dies on the excellence of its leads – and Ben Kingsley and Patricia Clarkson are rarely anything but brilliant.
As for The Hours, it got a three-way "ensemble" best actress award for its leads.
It's an intimate, sometimes oppressive, drama, with raw performances from its leads, but also one with a warm, old-fashioned undercurrent of love and community therein.
Its leads are mesmerising.
Most regrettably, "War" squanders the considerable merits of its leads.
