Stillwater Movie Review

Stillwater is a 2021 American crime drama film directed by Tom McCarthy, co-written by him, Marcus Hinchey, Thomas Bidegain and Noe Debre. It stars Matt Damon and Abigail Breslin.

The film revolves around an American father who travels to France to help his estranged daughter, who has been imprisoned for a murder she says she didn't commit.

Plot

Stillwater is a movie based on a true story and the film's plot revolves around an oil rig roughneck from Oklahoma who visits his daughter in a prison. The film is directed by Tom McCarthy and it stars Matt Damon.

When Bill Baker (Matt Damon) travels to Marseille, France, he plans on visiting his daughter, Allison (Abigail Breslin), who is in prison for killing her girlfriend Lina while studying abroad. She has run out of legal options and she decides to write a letter to her dad asking him to help with the case.

In Stillwater, Bill struggles with the language barrier and a new country, as well as French culture, and he makes it his mission to exonerate her. Using a variety of techniques, such as DNA testing and talking to witnesses, he proves that his daughter was innocent.

Despite his efforts, he eventually loses the case. However, he does manage to build a new life in France. He sublets a room from Virginie (Lilou Siauvaud), and becomes a father figure to her 9-year-old daughter Maya.

It's this sort of homemaking that sets Stillwater apart from other movies about Americans, who are used to watching Hollywood heroes save the day. But while the film has its share of missteps, it's a refreshing change of pace in a world dominated by superheroes, sequels and cinematic universes.

The film's premise is based on the real-life Amanda Knox case, which is a harrowing story of a girl who was falsely accused of murdering her roommate while she was studying in Italy. It took director Tom McCarthy and three co-writers more than a year to turn the gruesome details of the incident into a film, but he and Abigail Breslin are at their best when they don't let the facts stand in their way.

As an actor, Damon is a natural, and he brings his own brand of charm to the role. The film also features an excellent performance from Deanna Dunagan as his former mother-in-law Sharon. Those actors, combined with the rest of the cast, make Stillwater a compelling and moving story that will leave you with more than just a few tears in your eyes.

Cast

Stillwater is the latest film from director Tom McCarthy, who's won an Oscar for his work on Spotlight. The new movie is a big departure from that, but it's also another testament to his talent as a storyteller.

The film centers on Bill Baker (Matt Damon), an oil rig worker who travels to Marseille several times a year to visit his daughter Allison. When she is imprisoned for a murder she claims she didn't commit, Bill is determined to clear her name.

He doesn't have a lot of resources, but when he finds new evidence in her case, he is committed to trying to prove her innocence and getting her released from prison. Then he meets Virginie (Camille Cottin), a single French mother, and she helps him navigate the French culture.

As he spends more time with her, she helps him to understand what it means to be a foreigner in Marseille and how difficult it is to break down barriers when you are not familiar with the language or the customs. Eventually, the relationship between Bill and Virginie evolves into a love story and helps Bill come to terms with his past mistakes.

It's an engrossing, involving and complex film that's worth watching for its underlying message of life-changing forgiveness. But it's also a movie that takes its time to get there, and there are some clumsy moments along the way that make the film feel more like a tangled thriller than a genuine character study.

But overall, it's a good film that is well-acted by an impressive cast. Matt Damon is great as a man trying to do the right thing and find a new direction in his life. Camille Cottin is a fine actress who plays her role as Bill's French girlfriend with great empathy.

Stillwater is an edge-of-your-seat thriller based on the real-life Amanda Knox case, in which an American woman was convicted of killing her roommate in Italy but eventually was exonerated by a different court. It was a case that had captivated audiences around the world.

Release date

A hard-edged oil rig roughneck from Oklahoma travels to Marseilles to visit his estranged daughter, who is jailed for a murder she claims she did not commit. Confronted with language barriers, cultural differences, and a complicated legal system, Bill builds a new life in France as he makes it his personal mission to exonerate her.

A dramatic thriller directed by Academy Award(r) winner Tom McCarthy and starring Matt Damon, Stillwater was world premiered earlier this month at the 2021 Cannes Film Festival. It's the first major project from McCarthy since 2015's Spotlight, which won both Best Picture and Best Screenplay.

Directed by one-time Oscar nominee Tom McCarthy, Stillwater tells the story of Bill Baker (Matt Damon), an American oil rig roughneck from Oklahoma who travels to Marseilles to visit his estranged teenage daughter, who is jailed for allegedly killing her friend while studying abroad. In this compelling drama, Bill is pushed to the breaking point when he realizes that a tip sent to her attorney may lead him to her true innocence.

After discovering that a man has confessed to her killing, Bill sets out to investigate the case, despite the fact that he does not speak French and does not have the money for a private detective. He finds the help he needs when Virginie (Camille Cottin), a young French woman, agrees to assist him in his quest.

The movie also contains violence, including scenes of people being beaten up and a character attempting suicide. There is a brief sexual encounter and some strong language.

Parents need to know that Stillwater contains some violent language, including slurs and references to violence against women. The movie also depicts a few scenes of men beating up Bill, as well as a scene where Bill shoulder-slams another character and punches him in the face, knocking him out.

In an effort to make the characters in Stillwater feel authentic, Damon and director Tom McCarthy spent time in Oklahoma to get to know real-life oil rig workers. They also took part in a workshop on the subject of racism to ensure that they portrayed the characters correctly.

Rating

Stillwater is a movie that feels like it was made by a director who has spent a lot of time thinking about how to make movies that are not overtly cynical, and is not afraid to ask us to look at a character in a way that we haven't seen before. Ultimately, it succeeds by being an engrossing drama that is both difficult to watch and rewarding to behold.

The film opens with the main character, Bill Baker (Matt Damon), preparing for a trip to Marseille, France. This is where he plans to visit his daughter, Allison, (Abigail Breslin), who has been in prison for five years after being convicted of the murder of her Italian roommate. She has always maintained her innocence, and is now pursuing new evidence that may lead to her release.

He has a problem, however. Bill isn't fluent in French, and the language barrier makes it hard for him to understand what's going on around him. This leads to a series of awkward moments that are best avoided.

As the film progresses, Bill befriends Virginie (Camille Cottin), a theatre actress who also has a daughter named Maya (Lilou Siauvaud). He begins to bond with her, and she starts to trust him. They become more than just friends, but a new kind of family.

Despite all of this, the film isn't without its flaws. Its plot twists are a bit over-the-top, and its ending is both clumsy and ludicrous. It's a shame, because the rest of the film is genuinely fascinating and well-made.

It's the kind of movie that isn't often seen anymore. The '90s were a time of mid-budget dramas that were more character driven, and the genre is fading away.

Matt Damon's characterization is spot-on, and he has a natural acting style that works perfectly for this role. He isn't the Liam Neeson version of a God-fearing redneck, but he is the 'lost but stubborn' kind that we're so used to seeing in Hollywood.

Stillwater is a movie that feels like an effort from director Tom McCarthy to get at the human side of a character that we don't always see, but can easily forget. It's a film that takes the story of the Amanda Knox affair and spins it off to explore an American father's journey to help his teen daughter.