Marion Cotillard, who won an Oscar playing Edith Piaf in La Vie en Rose, is so possessed of talent, allure and exquisite grace that you follow her anywhere. In Rust and Bone, Cotillard plays Stéphanie, who trains orcas at an aquarium on the French Riviera. Stéphanie enjoys a healthy sex life, casually picking up burly boxer Ali (Matthias Schoenaerts) at a local club.

Everything changes when Stéphanie loses her legs in a work accident, shown in detail later in the movie. Her sense of self is shattered. It's Ali, struggling to raise his five-year-old son, who helps restore her sexual identity and sense of purpose. It doesn't come easy. Writer-director Jacques Audiard (A Prophet) probes the psyches of two people in crisis His hypnotic film means to shake you, and does. Schoenaerts reveals unexpected layers in Ali. And Cotillard delivers a tour de force of unleashed emotions. She's astonishing.

“Youth Knows No Pain”

“Like on 'Youth Knows No Pain' — we are the ones that should demonstrate, because we can take it,” Likke Li said. “We can pierce ourselves, take Ecstasy, dance all night and still go to work at our McDonald's jobs.” Despite the hedonistic sentiment in the song, the Swedish singer also admitted in hindsight her youth had repercussions. “I remember when I was 18-19 and feeling that I know it all,” Li said. “I always feel that I know it all. But that song is about realizing you don’t, and reflecting, ‘Boy, if I only knew what would follow.’”