The Broken Circle Breakdown (2012)

THE BROKEN CIRCLE BREAKDOWN  (2012)  ¢ ¢ ¢
    D: Felix Van Groenigen
    Veerle Baetens, Johan Heldenbergh, Nell Cattrysse
A musical romance from Belgium, about the relationship between a bluegrass musician named Didier and a tattoo artist named Elise. The roles are effectively cast. Johan Heldenbergh as Didier looks like Kris Kristofferson gone to seed, and Veerle Baetens looks enough like Reese Witherspoon to be her sister, only, you know, with a lot of tattoos. That adds a certain resonance to the scene where Didier proposes to Elise on stage, just like Joaquin Phoenix did to Witherspoon in "Walk the Line". There's a remarkable turn by Nell Cattrysse as the little girl who appears too briefly in the couple's lives, and the movie's best moments are heartbreaking. The film, like its characters, goes deep-end crazy in the second hour, but there's a reason for that. A happy ending might not be in the cards for these two, but at least they've got a great soundtrack backing them up. It's some of the finest Belgian bluegrass you're ever likely to hear.