Written by: Céline Sciamma
Starring: Pauline Acquart, Louise Blachère, Adèle Haenel, Warren Jacquin, Alice de Lencquesaing
Rating: [4.5/5]
Sexual awakenings in teenage years rarely transpire with full dignity as the general awkwardness and angst get mixed into the vulnerability of what these interactions transpire. If anything, it does provide a learning experience of it all, which the emotionally moving Water Lillies well and truly displays. A film unafraid to leave its audiences with their own thoughts following each interaction it delves into the dynamics of these teenage girls.
While attending a school synchronized swim competition, Marie (Pauline Acquart) becomes infatuated with the leader of the group, Floriane (Adèle Haenel), who has gained the reputation of being a slut by the other girls. As Marie seeks to join the team to get closer to Floriane, she begins to learn more about the dynamics of the relationships these girls all have with each other and the boys they seek to impress.
Delving into this stage of development for teenagers presents plenty of awkwardness to sift through where they begin to experience distinct feelings for the first time and decide to act upon them. As one knows, none of this comes with a rule or guidebook for them to follow, which means plenty of mistakes will occur and feelings will inevitably get hurt. Water Lillies works on more than just the idea of Marie working out her crush with Floriane but it expands far beyond into a story about each of the teenage girls at the center of the film and the dynamics they build with each other. How they view one another makes a decided difference in the way they view themselves, which can make them spiral and the firm grasp Céline Sciamma has on them serves as the key to its success.
Floriane, portrayed wonderfully by a young Adèle Haenel, becomes the object of affection for Marie but also becomes our fixation as an audience member we see her through the perspective of another person. Especially, at first, we see her less as a fully-fledged person but an object of desire for Marie also other boys and unfortunately men. This, unsurprisingly, places a mark on her where she has received the reputation of being a slut even when we learn directly from the source that nothing could be further from the truth. The way the camera captures Floriane puts us right into the perspective of Marie on many occasions as we view her as something almost otherworldly and Adèle Haenel plays right into it marvelously. She becomes an object of desire for pretty much everyone in this film, but because of it gets branded with this reputation, which further plays into the larger dynamic this film wishes to display about teenage girls and how they can rip each other apart for the sake of how boys perceive and think of them. Nothing necessarily new in its observation but captured in such a devastating manner.
This desire Marie continues to build for Floriane builds and begins to act out in ways that unsurprisingly transpire aplenty with teenagers where other relationships begin to take a backseat to their new focus. For Marie this ultimately transpires with her friend Anne (Louise Blachère) and how she sidelines her for major stretches in the film to hide away the newfound desires she has for Floriane. It displays the fickleness of friendship in this particular era of a teenager’s life where their desires supplant logic and this film plays right into it quite incisively.
The use of synchronized swimming as a sport plays a major part in the opportunities for these girls to work together and spend time with each other. Swimming, in general, typically has a loneliness component to it in the way that the majority of the time an individual works on their own to reach their personal goals and markers. It means plenty of time alone in the pool, but adding the synchronized element to it demands these girls to depend on each other to put together the performance they need to succeed. Marie’s inclusion in the group allows her to take the dynamics on display here as well as get into why each individual matters even if Floriane continues to remain her fixation throughout.
Seeing the way Céline Sciamma manages the childhood experience of girls never quite gets old in the way she knows how to get right to their core and works into their deepest emotions. Her filmography displays this immaculately through different stages but she manages to craft something much more vulnerable here in Water Lillies. The way in which she captures the particular angst of adolescence and how it merges with desire weaves together into something truly touching and emotionally impactful as displayed in this film. Every look and conversation comes drenched with meaning and exists as a form of expression for these characters. Sciamma displays both the innocence and the unseemly elements of the sexual awakening for these teenage girls but always does so through character-driven actions that ultimately serve the story.
Collaborations between Céline Sciamma and Adèle Haenel will never disappoint and what we receive in Water Lillies displays a patient and effective tale of these teenage girls. Everything about his film works impeccably well and the imagery Céline Sciamma makes every moment in the story count for the overall idea she wants to present in the way these teenage girls view each other and the way boys and men also do. With the awkwardness comes plenty of sweetness and with it also comes uncomfortable moments but Sciamma never shies away from the reality that comes with this age of life, especially as a teenage girl.
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