I am soft thirsting about Sophie seeing Heloise coming out of Marianne's room the day of the abortion and Knowing, and then later on totally overhearing them banging it out while high and unaware of how loud they are. And Sophie just kind of smiling to herself and thinking about sex and intimacy and her own pregnancy. There's a fic or two on AO3 where Sophie has been sent to Milan with Heloise, which I love the thought of.
You know the random thought I did have? I was like: At what point did Heloise or Marianne close the door? Because Marianne did not close the door when she stepped into the room and saw Heloise waiting for her. lol
I guess it doesn’t matter to me if Sophie knew or didn’t know. Like I don’t know what the parameters of assumptions are, how much is Known or Not Known, how much is Assumed or Not Assumed, like Anne Lister having Mariana Lawton nee Belcombe sleep in her bed whenever Mariana stayed over. How many people assumed there were sex was happening and not just sleeping? XD Maybe Sophie thinks Heloise needed a good (platonic) cuddle. (Honestly, where even were Sophie’s quarters located?? lol)
But if Sophie knew, what a true bro. I do love that look Sophie gave Marianne when Marianne saw the handyman at the table. Just how it screamed, “Alert! Alert! Status quo reinstated!!!”
Also soft thirsting for the possibility of Marianne having previously slept with women. That would give an additional layer of interest to the "we are in exactly the same position" scene, because Marianne delivers her compliments in that low, sultry, seductive voice in a way that's almost practiced, like she's gotten plenty of models into bed before and not only is she surprised that Heloise is looking back at her in the artistic sense, she's also surprised Heloise is refusing to fall into the role of the seduced - she's not refusing the seduction, but she is refusing Marianne's self-appointment as the active seducer working on the passive seduced. And Marianne can't handle that and gets too nervous, lol. Marianne also having experience with women would just add so much to the drama of her difficulty accepting how in love with Heloise she is - the drama is not from it being new but how powerfully and therefore terrifyingly "in flames" she is for Heloise.
I feel like the way Marianne delivers the first of the “you pose beautifully” etc lines doesn’t sound actively seductive. They sound almost rote or bored, like in a drawl. It’s why the last line “You are beautiful” lands so hard because of the way Marianne takes the time to meet Heloise’s gaze when she says it and it feels like finally, this line, Marianne is saying directly to Heloise. And those lines are so charged that it always felt less seductive, to me, and more vulnerable. Almost akin to the way Heloise said “but I also felt your absence.” Like you’re showing your cards, but just a quick flash, you’re not ready to lay them out on the table.
I guess for me Portrait never felt like a “seduction,” as in one truly actively pursuing the other, but a sense of mutual discovery--both of the other person and of oneself. And there’s never any “gay panic,” so to speak, on anyone’s part, which is one of the joys of the film. It’s never about “I am attracted to a woman?!” but “oh, I have feelings for this person and how do I communicate those feelings and could it be that those feelings are returned and will I act on those feelings?” I mean, whether it’s with men or women, Marianne is “more experienced” however you cut it and yet it never felt, to me, that that was ever actually in the equation. I think because of how Céline built Marianne to never condescend. Again, it’s an emphasis on Marianne’s privilege rather than any superiority, so when Marianne discovers Heloise has never heard an orchestra, Marianne’s reaction isn’t derision but this very gentle desire to try to communicate what that is like. Marianne is very much about sharing what she can: the book, tobacco (lol), music, being honest about her own experiences (yes, she’s had an abortion, which leads us to know she’s had sex), the way they mix paint together and so we know Marianne has invited Heloise in Marianne’s place, even the way she’s open to trying drugs because Heloise wants to (lol). I think Heloise is always constantly surprising her and challenging Marianne’s point of view (and privilege), but Marianne is open to that. She doesn’t take offense; she recognizes Heloise’s criticisms and interpretations as springboards to reevaluate and reconsider. (It’s really quite attractive.) Which is why Heloise’s criticisms about the first portrait actually have an effect, because Marianne is willing to hear them.
Which is all to say that I don’t think I see Marianne seeing herself as seducer in these circumstances (because I’m not sure there was an active seduction, so to speak). I think she is rising to the small challenges that Heloise sets for her and that they come to understand more and more how the other’s mind and humor work and where their feelings lie. It’s so much a film about arriving to meet in the middle. Even their first kiss is framed so that they approach from both sides of the screen and meet smack dab in the middle of the screen and though there’s some push and pushback, they end up back in the middle of the frame.
And now that I’ve talked about all the things they’ve shared, on top of my soft thirsting for Marianne and Heloise to just have had a walk where they could hold hands the entire time, I wish Marianne could have taught Heloise how to swim. XD
