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‘Malu’ Review: Superbly Acted Brazilian Drama Traces Tumultuous Mother-Daughter Relationships
Yara de Novaes stuns as a bohemian actress whose uncontained fury creates a rift between her and her loved ones in Pedro Freire’s personal debut.
But the property needs as many repairs as do her relationships with both her elderly mother Lili (Juliana Carneiro da Cunha) and her daughter Joana (Carol Duarte), who’s just returned to Brazil from France and is also pursuing acting. Within the boxy aspect ratio that cinematographer Mauro Pinheiro Jr. commands, there are shots of Malu, Joana and Lili positioned in the back, middle and foreground respectively — a visual representation of this fiery lineage. Capable of cloying tenderness and heart-piercing vitriol, it’s the type of character that generates a strong ambivalent response — oscillating between off-putting and magnetic — thanks to De Novaes’ willingness to let herself be fully possessed by the role.
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