Let The Sunshine In (2018) - Claire Denis

Perhaps the closest thing Claire Denis will every make to a romantic comedy, Let The Sunshine In is a whimsical deconstruction of the intangible nature of Love.  Set in Paris, the film follows the recently divorced Isabelle, a middle-aged painter who struggles to find someone to share her life with.  Perhaps best described as a "Comedy of Errors", Let the Sunshine's narrative unfolds almost like a series of vignettes, as we see Isabelle stumble between all-too-flawed men, unwilling to settle for an individual who can't provide both the companionship and passion she seeks.   Featuring a simple romantic comedy formalism, Claire Denis manages to never romanticize the societal construction of love, rather it treats it as this mysterious, poignant force, one which has the ability to drive stable individuals into a psychological frenzy. with Isabelle herself struggling to find her version of love.  'The anxiety, angst, fragility, and longing experienced by Isabelle throughout Denis' film are bitterly honest and quietly profound, with Binoche's brilliant performance balancing all the varied components of the mysterious nature of love, as the film showcases the subjective nature of love, and how in many ways, it's predicated by the various preferences and desires of each individual seeking to find something more through this connection.   Circumstances, the conflict which often can exist between carnal desires and love, as well as various outside influences all provide conflict in Isabelle's pursuit of love and companionship, and through this relatively straight-forward construction, Claire Denis reveals universal truths about this paramount, intangible pursuit known as love.