Screens August 7
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In 2004, the filmmaker Catherine Breillat suffered a stroke. A few years later, she returned to work, and was developing a new project when she met con artist Christophe Rocancourt, whom she cast as the film’s male protagonist. Abuse of Weakness is adapted from the filmmaker’s book of the same name, and is her dramatised account of the events surrounding the €700,000 she lent Rocancourt over the 18-month period that followed the pair’s initial meeting. What was she thinking? In Abuse of Weakness’ final shot, Maud (Isabelle Huppert), a filmmaker recovering from a stroke, discloses to lawyers and family members the scale of her financial loss following a friendship with a conman named Vilko (Kool Shen). Maud can only repeat the film’s line: she was not herself at the time of writing each cheque. But as with other examples of Breillat’s work, Abuse of Weakness depicts a relationship that cannot be reduced to any one of its numerous transactions. Despite her infirmity, Maud is not a straightforward victim, and at times she appears to take pleasure in Vilko’s transparency (which is also his lack of sophistication). Despite its autobiographical nature, Abuse of Weakness leaves the impression that an important piece of information is being withheld.