Lara review – elusive character study grips like a thriller

A woman stands at a high window, staring out at the city of Berlin below. After a moment, she exits the frame, only to return, unexpectedly, with a small ladder. As she begins to climb, we brace for the inevitable fallout. Then the doorbell rings and a black title card is thrust at us, bearing a single word: Lara. Talk about your introductions.

Unsurprisingly, one question lingers as we watch German writer-director Jan-Ole Gerster’s new film, which stars Corinne Harfouch as the titular character: would Lara actually have jumped if she hadn’t been interrupted? Most surprising, perhaps, is that what follows this downbeat opening is a bit of a comedy. I say “bit of a comedy,” because this tonally elusive work, though peppered with funny moments, mostly functions as a bleak character study of a woman who only knows how to treat others with an icy disdain. Bitter and jealous, Lara cares little for human contact, and has managed to alienate everyone in her life, including her ex-husband, co-workers, and even her mother.

The film, set over the course of a single day, falls on Lara’s sixtieth birthday. She goes to the bank, withdraws all her savings, and buys up the last twenty-two tickets for her son’s upcoming concert, which happens to fall on the same night. Viktor (Tom Schilling), a talented pianist, is set to unveil a new composition. He also shares a turbulent relationship with his mother. As Lara busies herself about town, visiting former co-workers and family, handing out the tickets, it’s impossible to be sure of her intentions. As we learn bits and pieces from various conversations (she, like her son, has some musical talent), Gerster takes his time in drip-feeding us information, imbuing the film with a surprising, thriller-like tension.

On paper, Lara is wholly dislikable. She breaks her son’s girlfriend’s violin bow moments after meeting her. Later, she slaps her elderly mother in the face during an impromptu visit. Afterwards, the pair don’t even seem to acknowledge the incident and we can’t help but wonder how many times this has happened before. Lara is compellingly played by Harfouch, walking a fine line between abhorrent and sympathetic without ever really appealing for our sympathy (Helen Mirren would nail this role in the never-going-to-happen English-language remake). Her quietly wounded performance has enough layers that we sense, right from the start, that something very specific has made her this way.

It won’t be for everyone. At times there is a strange disconnect between what we’re seeing and what we’re feeling. There’s a Mike Leigh-ish quality to the film’s blend of comedy and misery, especially in later scenes where everyone gathers to watch Viktor’s concert. Here an element of farce even seems to creep in, as larger-than-life characters are introduced and Lara discovers something that changes everything. Still, it’s the sort of film that rewards those who stick with it. It all builds to an extraordinary final scene that feels like a dam being blown open.

★★★★☆

By: Tom Barnard

Get Lara showtimes in London.

This film was screened for the press as part of the BFI London Film Festival 2019. For more information and showtimes for this year’s festival, head to our dedicated page.