Adèle, the main character of this film is a 15-year-old high school student. The film starts off with her having a love interest with a teenage boy. One day she is walking around and comes across a girl with blue hair who catches her attention immediately. She however becomes uninterested in the guy, as she is not able to stop thinking about the girl with the blue hair and questioning her sexual identity. While she is at a gay bar with her friend she spots the girl with the blue hair walking outside with a group of people. Her curiosity leads her to leave the bar and follow the girl into a lesbian bar. This is where she finally meets and talks to the other main character of the film, Emma. Emma is a graduate student studying art who is openly lesbian. Adèle and Emma start becoming friends and spending a lot of time together after this point as Emma comes to visit Adèle in school. Eventually Adèle acts on her sexual confusion by kissing Emma and they start a sexually intense and passionate relationship. Emma introduces Adèle to her family as her girlfriend as they are an open-minded family while Adèle has to introduce Emma as her philosophy tutor because she comes from a conservative family. Their relationship is healthy and happy and they move in together and start living together. Adèle also meets and hangs out with Emma friends such as Samir when Emma hosts’ parties to socialize and further help her painting career.
Over time Adèle graduates from high school and starts working for an elementary school while Emma works on her painting career. Throughout the years living together we get to see how Emma and Adèle’s relationship is working mostly due to their sexual passion and less because they have similar things in common. This causes Adèle to feel lonely and insecure which leads her to cheat on Emma with one of her co-workers. When Emma finds out about the cheating she kicks Adèle out of her house as Adèle desperately tries to explain herself.
Years later, Adèle is invited to Emma’s painting exhibit where Emma is in a happy relationship with Lisa. Seeing Emma moved on with her life makes Adèle realize that their relationship is done for good, and that she needs to move on as well. This causes her to leave the exhibit, not knowing that Samir who is interested in Adèle came looking for her.
The scene that best exemplifies the main point of this movie is the scene where Emma and Adèle meet up years after their break up. Adèle tries to win Emma back and tells her that she is still in love with her but Emma is unable to reciprocate her love for Adèle because she is now in a stable and comfortable relationship with Lisa. Watching Emma choose stability over love is the main point of this movie as it shows how as you get older you have to make really tough decisions that may not bring you the most happiness but will make your life and future secure.
Samir chasing after Adèle and looking for her in the opposite direction creates a frustrating and saddening ending to the movie. What do you believe is the reason for the director’s choice to leave Adèle’s story as a sad ending, do you think she deserved an unhappy ending for the choices she made in her life such as by cheating on Emma?
Sweekriti's Silver Screen Review 