TROUBLE EVERY DAY
Claire Denis’ 2001 erotic horror, Trouble Every Day starts with a couple making out in the back of a car paired with gorgeous, rhythmic music from English alternative rock band, Tindersticks. Water flowing in a French canal sparkles under a dusky purple sky, fading into the title card which is presented in a very late ‘90s, almost jarringly playful font. The viewer is lured deeper into an 8-minute stretch of dialogue-free images, ending after Coré (Béatrice Dalle) and her husband Léo (Alex Descas) share a bloody embrace. This image of a couple, sharing intimacy after a moment of cannibalistic horror, sets the tone for the rest of the film.
These three words, Trouble Every Day, say so much while still being so vague. What kind of trouble are we really going to endure while watching this? Are the two main characters, vampires or cannibals? Does it matter what kind of disease (if any) they suffer from? Repeated images like the focus on the back of a maid’s neck, blood-soaked grass, skin and sheets, Vincent Gallo’s cold blue eyes, Béatrice Dalle’s sensuous lips and teeth, hypnotize us into a tactile trance. We slip in and out of a traditional narrative, never getting close enough to any one character to truly understand their pain.
The reason why Trouble Every Day has stuck with me, and is my favorite film of the century, is because these characters and their addictions, betrayals, and desires are explored in an intimate and disarmingly calm manner. The beautifully brooding score by Tindersticks further juxtaposes the bloodier, more disturbing moments that we witness throughout the film which contain little or no dialogue. The only line from Béatrice Dalle in the entire 101 minutes of the film are, “I don't want to wait anymore, Léo. I want to die"
This isn’t an easy watch for some horror fiends, not because it has an extreme amount of gore or violence, but because it simply throws us into observing the everyday lives of its characters with an unflinching eye. Every lingering extreme close up on skin, tender moment of genuine sweetness, breathy moan and primal scream creates a world where sinister, unfathomable hunger reigns over romance. What could be scarier than that?
Aimee Kuge