Tom McCarthy’s Stillwater is a meditative treatise on the intersections of two cultures disguised as an investigative thriller. The latter makes sense, since his earlier film, Spotlight, was also about an investigation and it won him a Best Picture Oscar. If you expect to see Matt Damon slip back into his Jason Bourne sensibilities, think again.
Bill Baker (Matt Damon) is a roughneck oil-rig worker who says grace before every meal and can’t stop talking about his local college football team. He journeys to Marseilles for two week trips to meet with his daughter, Allison (Abigail Breslin) who has served five of her nine years in prison for killing an Arab woman who was her lover. Once she tells Bill to contact her lawyer about a new lead, Bill embarks on his own investigation as he tries to find a man who might know the truth about the murder. Along the way, he meets and befriends Virginie (Camille Cotton), a native do-gooder and her daughter, Maya (Lilou Siauvaud). Once his investigation grinds to a halt, however, he finds an unexpected refuge in the company of Virginie and Maya.
Damon puts in a thoughtful performance as Baker. He is soft-spoken, and yet he also embodies the brashness with which Americans carry themselves in foreign lands. His appearance nets him a question from Virginia’s friend about whether or not he is a Trump supporter, and he says that he couldn’t vote because of his criminal record. He is trying to make up for lost time and a lifetime of screwups with his daughter. But in Maya, he finds the chance to redo his daughter’s childhood and do it right this time.
Stillwater balances the narrative between Bill’s unfamiliarity and ignorance of certain dynamics- like how Allison had the advantage as an American dating a Muslim woman from the inner city- and his willingness to find solace in this strange country through small acts of kindness.
After a great second act, the film returns to the main plot in an intense manner, and we see a retread of the central scenario from Prisoners, although Bill is much less brutal. His actions cost him his newfound happiness with Virginie, and he has to leave behind a tearful Maya. Bill discovers a chilling truth about the murder, but as a father who is trying to save his daughter any way he can, he lets things proceed without exposing the truth.
Stillwater worked best in the second act, although an argument could be made that it was a detour, and Bill eventually had to go back to his life.
Yet the detour was so enticingly wholesome that one can’t help but want it to go on forever. The resolution, while not bad by any means, feels disappointing by comparison.
The setup of the movie was inspired by Amanda Knox’s case, and Knox has criticized the movie for capitalizing on her real life story and possibly casting her in a negative light.
Stillwater is one of the most interesting mainstream movies to come out this year. It’s a shame that it didn’t gain much momentum, because it’s a welcome change from the number of bland thrillers that inundate theaters every year. It stays with you for a while after it ends, and makes you think about how you can find redemption and peace in the most unlikely places.
