Both Sides of the Blade (2022) poster
2022 · drama · romance

Both Sides of the Blade

Directed by Claire Denis1h 57m2022
ElsewhereIMDb6.14kMetacritic72TMDB5.6106
  • heavy
  • measured
  • intense
  • bleak
  • signature
Movie DNA

Heavy, measured, measured drama / romance, grounded in texture. Nihilistic, intimate, cold, hand-scored across twelve axes of taste.

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Jean and Sara have been living together for 10 years. When they first met, Sara was living with François, Jean’s best friend and an admirer from back when he played rugby. Jean and Sara love each other. One day, Sara sees François in the street. He does not notice her, but she is overtaken by the sensation that her life could suddenly change. François gets back in touch with Jean. For the first time in years. He suggests they start working together again. From here on, things spiral out of control.

Our read · Both Sides of the Blade (2022) reads as a heavy, measured, grounded drama · romance entry — measured in intensity, intimate in scope, cold in temperature, nihilistic in outlook, with a strong directorial signature. Hand-scored on twelve axes of taste — mood, pacing, weirdness, hope, stakes, humour, reality, density, warmth, auteur, intensity, and era — with a derived palette drawn from its dominant cinematography.

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The shape of Both Sides of the Blade

Tonight, this looks like

What watching it is actually like.

You want a raw intimate dissection of middle-aged desire and jealousy.

ends bittersweetit stays with youa slow buildgrips by minute 20attention 4/5earns its lengthsubtitles: full
Date nightWith friendsSoloWith parentsKids around
Heads-upexplicit sexnudity

Skip it tonightYou want clear resolutions or light breezy romance.

DNA · twelve axes

The reading.

Each axis is hand-scored — not derived from votes or genre averages. The marker shows where this film sits; the gradient fill uses the film's own cinematography palette.

Mood · HeavyCosy
Pacing · Slow-burnKinetic
Intensity · GentleExtreme
Weirdness · ConventionalSurreal
Hope · NihilisticRedemptive
Stakes · IntimateEpic
Humour · NoneBroad
Reality · GroundedFantastical
Density · SparseTwisty
Warmth · ColdTender
Auteur · TransparentSignature
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