TRIBECA 2019 REVIEWS: Lara Jean Gallagher’s CLEMENTINE focuses on the complicated emotional mechanics intertwined in the romance between two women

One of the hardest things to handle in cinema with sincerity and class is romance and attraction. Time after time, the same hackneyed approaches lead to almost invariable executions. There are fanciful courtships, often littered with pointless comedic interludes. Superficial misunderstandings which resolve themselves or irrevocably break a potential bond within a 90-minute span. And then the seemingly obligatory “hot scene” where the couple in question finally offers one other some flesh in bed with the same sort of base eroticism used in softcore exploitation films.

Rarely do we get past these standards of filmmaking as Hollywood sex sells and audiences rush to get a glimpse of their favorite stars showing some skin. Be it rom-coms or Fifty Shades of Grey shock dramas, the complex dynamics of attraction and desire seem to never be realized in an authentic way in cinema. Luckily, writer-director Lara Jean Gallagher has broken that trend with Clementine.

The story is very simple and straightforward, much like the scenes used to portray it. Karen is a 29-year old woman who’s just gone through an ugly break up with her older, wealthy girlfriend. Unsure of how to move forward, she retreats to her now-ex’s cabin in the woods and breaks in to get away from it all. But of course, it’s more than that. She feels betrayed and violated by the woman she loved and now she’s returning the favor with a petty violation of her private property. What is she really doing there, anyway? Karen knows least of all.

Taking a stroll lakeside, she encounters a very young woman named Lana. Immediately, the sexual desire Karen feels plays on the camera. Eschewing brute music cues or obvious reaction shot editing, the attraction is both readily apparent and quietly patient as the camera sizes up their interactions in a naturalistic way, mercifully bereft of the cinematic hormone rushes which normally inject themselves into such moments. But there’s something off about Lana. Karen suspects very quickly that she isn’t always truthful – not about the stories she tells about her life and possibly not about her age.

Slowly, we see Karen’s attraction simultaneously grow more difficult to control even as her suspicion of this possibly underage liar surges. As they share many warm moments, we see that the younger lady is very aware of how to manipulate people. She knows how to act cute and be alluring, even to the extent of mixing mystery into her conduct. And yet, there seems to be a genuine bond between the women – perhaps even love. Conversations and innocent exchanges seem to be headed in one direction…

And then it doesn’t. While there are moments where a seemingly mutual lust for one another is acted upon, the way things turn out both emotionally and cinematically are handled with grace and dignity. It’s not that there isn’t a genuine exchange between these two people – there absolutely is. But the patient camera with its long takes of these two fantastic actresses keeps the “action” within relatable bounds.

In the end, this isn’t a film about seduction and conquest, but about struggling with emotions, be it a woman on the verge of here thirties feeling the emptiness of life or a teenager all-too-anxious to get hers started. As the film progresses through revelations and self-realizations, the character journeys of the two protagonists unfold organically. Lana’s lies are found to be sometimes mixed with truth. And Karen’s reactions swing from measured and mature to off-the-handle dangerous.

The quiet tension permeating the film seems in contrast with the pastoral setting of the film. From rustic cabin to placid lake and still forest, all that seems reserved is in fact thriving and striving. Clementine is the kind of film which endeavors to understand the complicated emotional mechanics which many times rule our choices. Yet it does this without hyperbole or neatly-arrived-at conclusions. Anyone struggling to understand why they love who they love and why maybe they should move on from those loves will feel this movie through and through. Lara Jean Gallagher has proven that there’s a lot more exciting things when it comes to sensuality than everybody taking off their clothes. Naked feelings are far more intense and in this case, far more cinematically gratifying.