“Amour” (2012) is a Poignant Drama

amourMichael Haneke’s sometimes pretentious, deliberately paced directing can’t eclipse the poignant acting in the very depressing film Amour (B). Jean-Louis Trintignant is the underdog actor here, superb as a devoted elderly husband nursing his slowly degenerating spouse, played gracefully by Emmanuelle Riva. Haneke lingers on the couple’s routines with near-scientific observation, but it’s the moments the central duo gets to play against type that help them truly shine in the film’s effective final act. It’s bleak material, no doubt, but often affecting.