Expired by Cecilia Miniucchi

After You, Me and Everyone We Know by Miranda July, the Critics’ Week is again offering an American film about female loneliness, directed by a woman. Has Miranda July opened the way to a new genre ? Is it a social phenomenon linked to the financial independence of women ? Or do these two female directors (Miniucchi & July) simply share a desire to create a sensitive portrait of a lonely heart ? In Expired, Claire is a traffic warden who lives with her sick mother. She belongs to the realm of quiet, sensitive heroines, waiting to be bowled over and made to re-examine their dreary lives. Jay, a work colleague, takes the task upon himself in his own way. Claire is touched by the rare bit of attention paid to her by this boorish man. "I’m too kind to you" he repeats to her. In reality, it is she who shows too much kindness, always answering his demands with a timid "Ok". He directs the conversation, pays for dinner, drives the car. This macho-man façade conceals a soul broken by an adulthood reached to early, whilst Claire is prolonging somewhat her adolescence. She still has a teddy-bear and asks advice from her mother when putting on a sexy outfit.

This encounter between two single people, one badly in need of love, the other sex, is continuously shaky. Claire tries to put light into her life by decorating her mother’s apartment with all kinds of lighting. Jay has studied the physics of plasma, and is attracted by the concept of black holes. An ex-alcoholic, he enjoys displaying his gloom in order to obtain first Claire’s compassion, and then her body. The sex scenes lack a certain gentleness and sympathy. Their relationship develops more through Jay’s sarcastic sense of humour and Claire’s clumsy, yet tender gestures.

Expired is about a woman prepared to accept a lack of respect in order to alleviate her loneliness. But her body is not to be taken so easily. It distances itself, as in a scene following an argument. Claire sticks herself to the wall in order to form a block against Jay. The shot is fixed. The situation reverses itself, Jay ending up responding "Ok" to Claire’s demands. We are not emotionally involved in the romance, and all the better. When the fragile bonds are all used-up, the relationship expires. But what exactly was this encounter : "Was it a lonely dance ?" That which is proposed by Cecilia Miniucchi is bittersweet and very pleasant.

Joanna Gallardo