Wild Diamond

Liane dreams of becoming the French Kim Kardashian. While her mother is months behind on paying rent, she saves money from a waitressing job in order to get plastic surgery. Beauty equals power, and like so many other teenage girls, she mistakes attention for love. When she is invited to audition for a reality show format, her life goals appear just within reach.

Wild Diamond’s social realism is so evidently inspired by Fish Tank, the fact that director Agathe Riedinger’s feature film debut is competing against Andrea Arnold’s latest work for the Palme d’Or makes for a particularly intriguing turn of events.

There are a few elements to the story that don’t feel sufficiently devised in comparison to the bigger picture that is painted – for instance, a roughcast side plot with a love interest – but Wild Diamond convinces with genuine sensitivity for its subjects. The empathy for young women’s insecurities is palpable throughout the film, and while eying the development critically, the character’s obsession with her looks isn’t turned into ridicule the way one is used to seeing the matter treated. Instead, the portrayal of the vicious cycle of social media exacerbating body dysmorphia works almost like a moving illustration to support a psychological study. The comments she receives under her posts fill out the screen in large font, depicting an almost biblical importance to Liane. Additionally, her naive hope that appearing on television will give her life meaning brings to mind Ellen Burstyn’s mania in Requiem for a Dream, when the format in question would likely use her background to turn her into a laughing stock.

The director previously tackled the material in short form with Waiting for Jupiter but chose a first-time actress as the main character in the feature version. The risk paid off, as Malou Khebizi stuns with her discerning performance of a brittle girl putting on a brave face and false bravado every time she leaves the house.

With its spotlight shining on the fragility behind the sparkle, Diamant brut reminds us that those loudest in a crowd are not immune to pain, and lead complex inner lives. To anyone who listed How to Have Sex in their favourite films of the past year, it comes as a must-see.

Selina Sondermann

Wild Diamond does not have a UK release date yet.

Read more reviews from our Cannes Film Festival 2024 coverage here.

For further information about the event visit the Cannes Film Festival website here.