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The Immigrant Movie Review

The Immigrant is a 2014 historical drama film directed by James Gray and starring Marion Cotillard and Joaquin Phoenix. It’s such a wonderfully old-fashioned melodrama.

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“Has it become a sin for me to try so hard to survive?“

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In 1921, an innocent immigrant woman is tricked into a life of burlesque and vaudeville until a dazzling magician tries to save her and reunite her with her sister who is being held in the confines of Ellis Island. This is one of the best films directed by James Gray, a director known for his deeply intimate, human portraits of life and relationships. This is one of his richest movies in terms of cinematic qualities and also one of his most timeless works.

Apparently, the director wanted to make a traditional woman’s picture as there aren’t that many films about women these days, which he is definitely right about and it’s ironic that during this feminist era these films have almost disappeared. But we have Gray to thank for bringing it back, at least for one wonderful movie.

This film isn’t just set in the Roaring Twenties, but it might have been made back then as well. This is how old-fashioned Gray’s film is. It was clearly inspired by the melodramas and tragedies of this era when emotional stories with tragic twists and turns were all the rage. It felt quite poetic and even operatic in that quality of running at high emotions throughout.

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The movie’s final act really worked as it was unexpected and quite poignant. The entire movie is slow in pace, but engaging from start to finish as it’s populated by very well-defined characters and an approach to storytelling that is dialogue and character-focused in such a delightful manner.

With that being said, for a film about the issue of immigration, it had nothing of importance to say about this subject. It felt rather empty thematically speaking, which was its biggest issue. It’s so confined to its three and basically just two main characters for better and for worse, leading to an indie drama that is disguised as an epic period piece due to its strong technical aspects, but it lacked the ambition of those films of yesteryear. Still, it was so rich in characterization, dialogue and emotion that it felt rather novelistic in tone. It’s as if he adapted some classic American novel from the early 20^th century, but the screenplay is entirely original and Gray needs to be congratulated for his writing here too.

Marion Cotillard had one hell of a year in 2014 with this film and ‘Two Days, One Night’. She was Oscar-nominated for the latter Dardenne brothers picture, but I would have given it to her for The Immigrant for sure as she was absolutely radiant here. This is such a terrific, timeless performance that evokes the silent cinema acting in its finest form without resorting to mawkishness or overacting. She’s so expressive in her eyes alone and just so easy to root for.

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Joaquin Phoenix is excellent in such a well written, complex role. I loved the complicated dynamic between the two that is the heart and core of this picture. Jeremy Renner was also effective in a smaller, but important turn. The movie also features such a sumptuous cinematography to it that felt antiquated in its warmer hues in the best way possible.