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Not much silver lining

Julian WrightEastern Reporter

AN aging actress faces myriad emotions when she is faced with working alongside one of Hollywood's hottest young actresses in Clouds of Sils Maria.

Legendary actress Maria Enders (Juliette Binoche) is presented with the opportunity to appear in a revival of the play that launched her career 20 years ago.

This time, instead of playing the young manipulative beauty, she will take on the role of the middle-aged, emotionally manipulated older woman.

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Despite constant encouragement from her assistant Valentine (Kristen Stewart) that it is a great role, Maria is unconvinced, struggling with her waning enthusiasm for the piece now that she has to look at it from a new perspective.

Her co-star in the revival is the Lindsay Lohan-type Hollywood wild child Jo-Ann Ellis (Chloe Grace Moretz), whose tabloid antics often overshadow her work.

There are plenty of fascinating themes swirling around in this leisurely paced drama " age and beauty juxtaposed, how we change as we grow, how our perspective on art can change over time " that this has the makings for a riveting experience, but alas it remains dull throughout.

Repetitive scenes in which Maria and Valentine rehearse, analyse and re-analyse the play, with Maria struggling to identify with her new character, become tiresome.

In moments that are a little too meta for their own good, Valentine endlessly praises Jo-Ann's body of work, even defending her performance in a cheesy blockbuster film which is released ahead of this "serious" production she is attached to

There is stunning scenery to look at when the chit-chat gets a bit too much, but these postcard moments are hardly enough to keep the audience interested for two hours.

Clouds of Sils Maria (MA) Directed by: Olivier Assayas Starring: Juliette Binoche, Kristen Stewart, Chloe Grace Moretz Two and a half stars Review by: Julian Wright In cinemas May 7