Therapy is one of the most rewarding bits of personal maintenance one can give to themselves. Even so, you cannot help but wonder, is the person you are spilling your innermost secrets to that much better off than you are? This is the basic narrative kernel that budding filmmaker Justine Triet takes in her third feature Sibyl to construct a multi-layered exploration of female desire, artistic ambition and struggle for a well-balanced life. Originally debuting in competition at Cannes 2019 and finally securing a high definition physical media release in conjunction with Vinegar Syndrome, Sibyl may have been initially overshadowed by French compatriot Portrait Of A Lady On Fire, but this meta-psychological thriller is one that is poised to reward in its own creatively ambitious way.
Belgian actress Virginie Efira continues to show her impressive range after Paul Verhoeven’s psychological thriller Elle with a titular performance that demands a comforting assertiveness right alongside a cracking facade. We first find Sibyl, a psychologist and mother of two, in the throws of a creative renaissance. After years of internal debate, she has decided to transition away from seeing patients in order to focus on her career as a writer. We see the delicate, painful process of her patients being informed of the severance. Of course, she keeps a couple of her most critical patients to help ease the transition on both sides. Despite her outward excitement, her creative impulses are not exactly firing on all cylinders. The daunting sight of a blank word document is only alleviated by throwaway musings that seek only to fill the page rather than truly enlighten. This changes one night when she gets an emergency call from a mysterious woman in distress who will not take no for an answer when she begs to be talked off an emotional ledge. Sibyl knows better than to take her on as a patient, but her curiosity gets the better of her.
This new patient is the alluring Margot (Adele Exarchopoulos, Blue Is the Warmest Color), a young actress who is in the midst of a professional breakthrough that is complicated by the affair she is having with her leading man, who also happens to be married to the film’s director. This is the exact type of gossip that sells tabloids by the thousands, and Sibyl has become the person that Margot trusts most in this life. It is when Sibyl begins to betray professional guidelines, at first simply using Margot’s life as inspiration for her novel before graduating to secretly recording sessions, that the drama escalates precipitously. The line between reality and fiction, shrink and patient, begin to blur to the point of obfuscation.
This is not the first time that Sibyl has struggled with impulse control. Throughout the film, Sibyl visits her own therapist who attempts to alert her to potential hazards to the sobriety she has worked so long to maintain. Sibyl often finds herself lost in a daydream, reflecting back upon a time she was hopelessly in love with Gabriel (Niels Schneider), a man who conjured a toxic passion within her tied to her drinking. She is in a much different place in her life with her current boyfriend, sensible stay-at-home dad Etienne (Paul Hamy). She lives a mature, mostly happy life, but passionate stories from her new patient do little to control the embers deep inside of her just waiting to be stoked.
The interconnection between Sibyl’s emotional state and that of Margot becomes increasingly more complicated as they become more embedded in each other’s lives. A standout portion of the film is when Sibyl is beckoned to Stromboli to coach her client through a fraught shoot. Triet has fun with the meta-narrative of a film set as she casts the great Sandra Huller (Sleep) as a stand-in for herself as the director of this crumbling European arthouse drama that somewhat mimics the off-set dynamics of all of these individuals. Sibyl becomes the unlikely fulcrum of the production, a role that is not a good fit for someone just barely holding on to her own sanity. The narrative balancing act between several disparate plotlines is not always perfect, but Triet conquers a lot within this section concerning females in the creative field and the sacrifices that are asked of them in order just to get by.
This film stands apart from others thanks to the direction of Justine Triet. While the overall vibe of this feature is psychological thriller, it is difficult to condense this narrative down to one categorization. There are moments of brilliant dark humor alongside moments of poignant human melodrama. The female gaze that is brought to the feature allows these complicated women to be more than just two-dimensional vessels. Sibyl, especially, in any other movie might be reduced to the “crazy” therapist who gets too invested in her patients lives, but Triet digs a bit deeper to reveal the struggle that many viewers may relate to: attempting to lead a well-balanced life that serves your professional ambitions while trying to be an emotional pillar for your family. Sibyl is as complex as its titular character. Just when you think you have the film figured out, you are given new possibilities and dynamics to consider. Too seldom do we get such versatile work, so consider Triet one director you should have firmly on your radar.
Video Quality
Sibyl comes to Blu-Ray in a 1080p presentation in its original 2.39: that is absolutely stunning. This is a visually rich film with beautiful, dreamy shots of islands and the city throughout where you can see an impressive amount of detail. The transfer maintains the crisp look of the source format quite admirably with no dips even in the shadows. The film is bursting with natural colors throughout with numerous moments that really pop off the screen from the lush nature to some of the costumes. The interiors are typically a more reserved environment that present with more moderate tones that the presentation represents perfectly with a pleasing richness. The white levels are handled beautifully, along with the intensely deep blacks that do not appear to suffer from any compression artifacts. The skin tones look very detailed and natural all around. This presentation is definitely a knockout on the Blu-Ray format.
Audio Quality
The Blu-Ray disc comes with both a DTS-HD 5.1 and 2.0 Master Audio track in the original French that conjures a very specific mood that transports you into the unstable headspace of the character. The film uses music in really fun, meaningful ways that fill the room, especially in some of the more vibrant tunes. The dialogue comes through crystal clear without ever being overpowered by the sound effects or the score. The sound design is just as precisely thought-out as the on screen visuals with all of the sounds positioned just right in the mix. The environmental effects create a really nice soundscape of nature and the din of the certain rooms. This is not an action-heavy film, but activity in the low end provides some nice texture to many scenes. This is a lovely sounding release that brings the movie to life in a really beautiful way. There are optional English and English SDH subtitles provided here.
Special Features
- Audio Commentary: Film Critic Alexandra Heller-Nicholas provides a very informative and entertaining commentary track in which she discusses the career of Justine Triet, the history of therapy and literature, the visual style of the film, the genre aspects of the narrative, the playful visual language and structure of the feature, how Triet shoots to bring truth to the surface and more.
- Interviews with Director Justine Triet and The Cast: A nearly 22-minute piece in which the creatives discuss the origins of the project, the initial meetings between the director and the cast, what the content of the script stirred in the performers, the casting of the film, the complex relationship between Sibyl and Margot, the premiere of the film at Cannes and more.
- Teasers: Two minutes worth of teaser trailers are provided here.
- Theatrical Trailer: The two-minute trailer is provided here.
- Photo Gallery: A collection of stills, behind-the-scenes photos and more are provided here.
Final Thoughts
Sibyl is an utterly engrossing psychological character study which takes familiar tropes and aims to tap into something more nuanced thanks to the assured storytelling of Justine Triet. The slow unraveling of a woman has rarely been handled with as much care and empathy as is given to the titular character. The transfixing dynamic between stars Virginie Efira and Adele Exarchopoulos is not played for tawdry thrills, which you easily could have seen transpiring in less mature hands. There are aspects of the narrative that lean a bit too ambitious, but even the imperfect parts add some fun texture to the film. Music Box Films Home Entertainment has given this lovely film a Blu-Ray release featuring a top-notch A/V presentation and some worthwhile special features. Fans of slow-burn psychological dramas with knockout performances should add this one to their list. Recommended
Sibyl is currently available to purchase on Standard Edition Blu-Ray or with a Limited Edition Slipcover exclusively through Vinegar Syndrome.
Note: Images presented in this review are not reflective of the image quality of the Blu-Ray.
Disclaimer: Music Box Films Home Entertainment and Vinegar Syndrome have supplied a copy of this disc free of charge for review purposes. All opinions in this review are the honest reactions of the author.
Dillon is most comfortable sitting around in a theatre all day watching both big budget and independent movies.
