Marion Cotillard and Matthias Schoenaerts (Photo Courtesy of Flickr Creative Commons)

From filmmakers Jacques Audiard and Thomas Bidegain, "Rust and Bone" is a French film with English subtitles.

The story follows an unemployed man, Ali (played by Matthias Schoenaerts) and his relationship with his newly inherited five-year-old son, his sister Anna (played by Corrine Masiero) who he crashes with in Antibes, France and Stephanie, a beautiful killer whale trainer, played by Marion Cotillard. "Rust and Bone" is the story of a man who must come close to losing everything before realizing what is important to him. It is about a woman who nearly escapes death and learns how to turn her physical handicap into a new chapter. This is, of course, an extremely simplified way of describing the plot of "Rust and Bone". In reality, its twists and turns are frequent and jarring.

Ali is a brute of a man who is violent and prone to physical outbursts. He makes ends meet by working as a bouncer in a club, a security guard, a boxer in black-market fights and as a hired criminal. His relationship with his son, Sam (played by Armand Verdure) is one of neglect and bipolarity. More often than not, Sam is regarded as a nuisance by Ali, who frequently forgets him and leaves him for Anna and others to care for. At rare moments he tries to get love and affection from his son, but is guided by self-interest. Above all, he is selfish and driven by animalistic urges. He is also uncharacteristically kind at moments, at least and perhaps only to Stephanie.

Stephanie and Ali meet by coincidence at a night club. Their instant spark causes him to protect her in a fight and take her number. Their relationship is nothing more than that at first. A chance meeting of strangers.

Stephanie is a whale trainer and performer at a local aquatic show. She loves her job and is talented at it until a freak accident almost costs her life and renders her a paraplegic, with her legs amputated at both knees. She wakes up in the hospital to discover that her legs have been severed, in a tragically real and painful scene. Her deep depression causes a physical transformation of Marion Cotillard, who plays the role spectacularly. Alone and empty, she reaches out to Ali, and their intense friendship begins to form. He cares for her by taking her to the beach and helping her swim in the ocean, an act that gives her life again. Their love for one another is intense, yet unspoken for the majority of the film. Like most love, it is not without deep pain.

Anna works tirelessly to provide for her helpless brother and nephew. In one scene, Ali becomes enraged with the boy and throws him against the corner of a table. Anna is horrified and kicks Ali out of her house. It is one of many times she is responsible for the young boy. She is tough and weathered, working a thankless job which Ali eventually sabotages through one of his corrupt gigs.

At some point in the film, Ali becomes obsessed with boxing, nay, more a form of ultimate fighting. He trains constantly and becomes entwined in a circle of men who ride out to the countryside and fight in illegal matches, with bets placed on their heads. It is an outlet for Ali to act out his aggression, though brutally violent, as men bash in each other's eye sockets and teeth. Heads are pummeled again and again and blood is always shed. They are near-fatal fights, and Ali gets off on performing well in them. 

Marion Cotillard is spectacular as Stephanie. The transformation she undergoes in the film is intense, both physically and emotionally. It is remarkable how she is made to look so believably paraplegic in the film. She is entirely nude in several scenes in the film, and her body, including amputated legs look incredibly realistic. After she undergoes physical therapy, she is able to get prosthetic legs, which allow her to walk with a cane. It is her regained sensuality and new-found height which gives her the confidence to not only root on Ali at his brutal matches, but become his coach, the only woman in a sea of grisly men. By the end she is confident and badass, in a leather jacket with her titanium legs and secret smile. 

Toward the close of the film, Ali faces the potential loss of everything important to him. It is only at this point that he begins caring for the people that matter most to him, namely Stephanie, Anna and his son. In a heart-wrenching scene, his son becomes trapped under the ice in a frozen pond and nearly dies. Ali fractures both hands punching the ice before finally (and barely) rescuing him. It is one of several emotionally battering scenes in this deeply dramatic film. This is not a film for the faint of heart.

In the end, there is a happy conclusion, though it is after much grief and suffering. It's a story of survival in the face of abject mediocrity and tragedy. It is a story about love, and how imperfect and dark, yet ultimately life-saving love can be. It is about strength and survival and conviction and realizing what is important in life, and making a beautifully happy story of the harsh realities of the crap-shoot of life.

"Rust and Bone" was chosen as an official selection in Cannes, Toronto and Telluride International Film Festivals in 2012.

It will be released in N.Y. on Nov. 23 and in L.A. On Dec. 7.

Check out the trailer below:

Reach Staff Reporter Ashley Riegle here. Follow her on Twitter here.