Le silence de Lorna (Lorna's Silence)

Brothers Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardennes are among the most celebrated filmmakers working today. Known for their beautiful and intensely naturalistic portrayals of the lower end of the Belgian social spectrum, they entered the spotlight after La Promesse was released in 1996, and since then most of their films have played and won major honors at the prestigious Cannes Film Festival.

Their latest, Lorna's Silence (Le silence de Lorna), is a more accessible entry into the Dardennes canon. It unwinds slowly and unexpectedly, delivering its intrigue with a deadpan expression. But at the same time, it retains all the hallmarks of the brothers' work, in its storytelling, setting, characters, silence, and quiet shock.

Arta Dobroshi as Lorna

In a previous Dardennes film, L'enfant, the main character (also played by Jérémie Renier, who plays one of the leads here) slowly moves beyond his childish narcissism to become aware of those around him. L'enfant is sad, but realistic in its portrayal of redemption: our actions have consequences, but they do not move us beyond hope.

In the same way, Lorna's Silence is a tale of redemption, though it is less obvious who or what is being redeemed. We encounter Lorna at her breaking point, long after she has made the decision to use another human being to suit her own desperate needs. An immigrant, Lorna, her boyfriend Sokol, and their shady cohort Fabio have cooked up a scam marriage plan to gain Belgian citizenship for Lorna and, in the process, earn a lot of money. Lorna and Sokol want a life together; Fabio wants the cash and connections; and their chosen prey needs them.

Claudy (Jeremie Renier) and Lorna

But that's all happened before the movie starts, and the details are unwound carefully, gradually, and with little fanfare. The narrative moves faster than a typical Dardennes story—if you're not paying attention, you may miss some vital information that's buried into the more mundane acts of daily life—and we the viewers slowly come to understand the motivations of all characters involved. In fact, we can hardly blame any of them, for all their reprehensibility. These people live their lives in morally grey territory, with a combination of disadvantaged circumstances and bad choices guiding them through life.

Flatly lit, bleakly told, Lorna's Silence is an unblinking portrayal of desperation on all levels, from the woman who is desperate to both earn her keep and avoid the unthinkable, to the con mastermind who is desperate to make his deal and save face, to the drug addict desperate to change once and for all.

For an audience unused to quiet, naturalistic foreign filmmaking, Lorna's Silence walks the happy line of drawing the viewer into the narrative without resorting to smash-bang-up or heavy-handed tactics. The most crucial moments in the film are entirely omitted; we simply experience their consequences, along with the characters. This is life, observed without sentimentality or comment.

Lorna and Claudy

The film's denouement comes out of left field, and Lorna's steely expressionless stance imbues it with ambiguity. Are we watching Lorna descend into madness, or clarity? Are those around her lying to manipulate her, or at the end of their respective ropes? Is she losing complete control, or finally gaining charge of her own life?

The mysterious unexplained is precisely what makes Lorna's Silence a compelling story, and what makes it a sad but true study of redemption, come a little too late.

Talk About It

1. What circumstances led to Lorna's decision to participate in the marriage scam? What circumstances led to Claudy's participation? Fabio's? Sokol's? The Russian's? What choices might each have made instead, and what would the consequences have been?
   
   
2. All of the characters view marriage as simply a legal tool to be used as a means to an end: money, power, or citizenship. You may know people who view marriage as a means to gain something, too—an elevated social standing or a feeling of worth. What is the purpose of marriage? Can a marriage such as this ever work?
   
   
3. Why do you suppose Lorna begins to help Claudy?
   
   
4. Consider the end of the film. When does Lorna decide to break free? What do you think she will do next?
   
   

The Family Corner

Lorna's Silence is rated R for brief sexuality/nudity and language. There is brief full frontal female nudity in a short and moderately graphic sex scene, a few scattered obscenities (not in English, but translated in the subtitles), as well as some painful scenes of drug withdrawal and non-graphic self-harm. The themes of the film—sale of marriage, drug addiction—are adult in nature (in the truest sense of the word).

Photos © Sony Pictures Classics

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