Innocence

Though it begins with a lot of promise – the film opens with the end credits, while a coffin is moved ominously through a dark cavern – it soon becomes evident that there’s not much more to Innocence than an intriguing sense of style. The story involves a young girl who awakens from a coffin, only to find herself trapped within the confines of a mysterious school for girls. Nobody questions their presence there, though it seems clear that none of these girls arrived voluntarily. Writer/director Lucile Hadzihalilovic admittedly imbues the film with an intriguing look -it doesn’t come as much of a surprise to learn that she’s Gaspar Noe’s life partner – but the film’s plot isn’t nearly substantial enough to warrant such an overlong running time. Much of the film’s first half seems to consist entirely of the little girls frolicking; ie swimming, dancing, playing with hula hoops, etc. It doesn’t take long before this bizarre structure becomes interminable; the audience is left wondering what the point of all this is. About the only thing that keeps us going is the mystery surrounding this bizarre place, but even that aspect of the film is unsatisfying (without getting too far into spoiler territory, let’s just say that those hoping for a concrete explanation will be sorely disappointed). As a filmmaker, Hadzihalilovic has potential – though Noe could probably teach her a thing or two about matching intriguing visuals with a compelling story.

1/2* out of ****