Foxfire (2012)

Directed by: Laurent Cantet
Country: France

Review: This overextended second adaptation of Joyce Carol Oates’ novel “Foxfire” by the talented French filmmaker Laurent Cantet, ended up being considerably better than the first version from 1996 with Angelina Jolie, but could have been much more interesting if better edited and if had shown further expansiveness in terms of emotions. Lacking strength and vitality in several moments, the film minimally caught my interest, especially due to Raven Adamson’s performance in the role of Legs, a smart, dangerous, and feminist revolutionary leader who gathered the girl-gang Foxfire in 1955’s upstate New York. The story started with a very encouraging rhythm, but after the anti-capitalist gang having become obsessed with money, the big adventure fell in typical and questionable situations, conducting its radical feminist ideas to common places. With a suitable score that tries to create more vividness among the mild action scenes, “Foxfire” is often disconcerting and ultimately limited. It’s a shame that its initial intensity have degenerated into scenes where the girls' actions weren’t capable of making this blood sisterhood against men, more convincing and memorable. A sturdy direction and appreciable production design helped making Cantet’s seventh film a watchable-yet-non-rigorous slice of armed revolution.