More Than Ever
Cert 14| ★★★★✩

Vicky Krieps — last seen in the brilliant costume biopic Corsage — delivers an outstanding performance in Franco-German director Emily Atef’s latest film More Than Ever (Plus que jamais).

The film, which made its world premiere at the Cannes Film Festival last May in the Un Certain Regard section, also stars Gaspard Ulliel — seen here in his last-ever role before his untimely death in a skiing accident last January.

Hélène (Krieps) and Mathieu (Ulliel) have a seemingly perfect marriage. Hélène’s life is turned upside down when she is diagnosed with a rare lung illness, which could prove to be fatal. Despite being offered the possibility of an organ transplant, Hélène feels unsure about her next move.

She finds solace in a blog written by a fellow terminal patient from Norway with whom she soon strikes up an online friendship.

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Gaspard Ulliel

After much soul-searching, Hélène decides to pay the mysterious man a visit in the Norwegian wilderness where she hopes to find answers to the many questions buzzing around her head.

Exasperated by her actions, Mathieu also travels to Norway to persuade Hélène to go through with the operation.

More Than Ever seeks to be life- affirming and philosophical about a terminal diagnosis, but often feels bleak. Atef has given us a very honest account but there is very little optimism in her film. She delivers a genuinely heartbreaking story that will resonate with many, but it is more likely to stir up heartbreak than provide comfort.

The crux of the story is the question: can one really still derive pleasure from everyday things while facing the end of everything? While the writer-director makes that case, there is much here that seems to make the opposite argument.

While More Than Ever’s story is made all the more poignant by the tragic death of Ulliel, there is still a lot to admire here, including Krieps’s mesmerising screen presence and her ability to inhabit vastly different characters with incredible ease.