Many average movie-goers look at independent films as gaudy, pompous and overly eccentric. While this bias, like the majority of prejudices, is mostly incorrect, there are some films that fall into a self-fulfilling prophecy.    

“Clouds of Sils Maria” (Rated R;124 min) directed by Olivier Assayas, falls into a lot of the traps of an infuriating indie movie, but ends up being an amazing drama with fantastic depth.

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Maria Enders, played by Juliette Binoche, is in the twilight of her career. It has been many years since the release of the play that made her famous. She is now close to 50 years old and starring in several big budget movies. After the death of a playwright friend, Enders feels the desire to once again act on stage.

Her loyal assistant Valentine, played by Kristen Stewart, informs her of a famous theater director’s plan to revise the play that was once Enders’ claim to fame. He wants her to join the production, this time playing the older, romantic lead of her previous character. Preparing for the play brings haunted memories, and Enders goes down a rabbit hole she might never come back from.

Overall, the movie is delightfully engrossing. It takes a life-imitating-art attitude and most of the plot plays as a reverse version of Enders’ fictional play. This helps the film beautifully touch on themes of the hypocrisy put on aging actresses, culture clashes and the difference between actor and character.

It also showcases terrific performances by the three female leads. Stewart especially should be praised for playing a role which shows she is more than the monotone character Bella Swan, of the Twilight series.

Yet, the “Clouds of Sils Maria” ruins most of its good faith by generalizing and poorly parodying modern big budget movies. In a movie full of depth, emotion and great characters, it could have easily left out any cheesy caricatures.

Instead, they are left in and the movie suffers.

The film characterizes popular films as being created by individuals who do not care about their product, creators making convoluted messes only low-brow people can enjoy.

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All of the parodies end up looking like attacks, rarely siding with popular films. Even when Valentine tries to defend them, she ends up saying she likes most of them from an ironic, hipster viewpoint.  

There are problems with big-budget movies, but one could argue there are just as many problems with the independent film scene.

The film takes a page from “Birdman” and touches on age in acting. “Clouds of Sils Maria” actually talks about it a little better, as discrimination against older actresses has been present for ages.

There are exceptions to this inequality. Actresses such as Meryl Streep and Helen Mirren have garnered amazing roles in their older age. But, for the most part, actresses 40 to 50 years old are rarely given substantial roles.

Enders is only 50, yet she has not been given a classical role in some time. Valentine serves as the embodiment of the film industry when she complements a younger actress over Enders, virtually only because of her age.

Stewart is an actor who has been placed with an unfair typecast. Since the Twilight series, she has been labeled as emotionless and one who could not act her way out of a paper bag. She has been fighting this ever since.

In “Clouds of Sils Maria” she plays a well-developed, sympathetic character. In the whole film, she is the one person easily connectable to the audience. Valentine is being pulled every which way, problems coming from every direction. Stewart perfectly portrays a person trying to figure things out in the world of high profile celebrities.

The moment she leaves the film is a sad one indeed.

Stars: 3.5 out 5