Blue is the Warmest Color follows the beginning and end of a relationship between a girl named Adele and her older lover Emma. The two meet for the very first time after having crossed a road when they catch each other’s eye. Later, she and Emma are reunited after Adele wanders into a lesbian bar; having broken up with her boyfriend. Adele thought he was nice but knew she wasn’t in love with him and thus questioned her sexuality. Emma comes up to Adele and the two start to talk. It turns out they have little in common, but they start to fall in love nonetheless. There are many instances throughout the movie that show Adele possesses many insecurities which end up bringing about the end to their relationship. For example, Emma is “out” whereas Adele is closeted. And she never truly comes to terms with her sexuality either, even after dating Emma for so many years. Maybe this could be because her friends in high school reacted so negatively when they suspected Adele of being gay. Or it could be because her parents expect Adele to marry a man– so she lied about Emma being just a friend. Either way, it would also explain why Adele feels the need to lie to her coworker about not being able to hang out; always claiming she has family dinners when she was actually seeing Emma. While Emma also made a couple mistakes in their relationship, ultimately it was Adele who made herself feel lonely by making Emma her everything and constantly comparing herself to this person she loved so much. For instance, in the final scene in their relationship everything she’s had bottled up, blows up in her face. It starts with Adele is confronted by Emma for cheating. Then she continues to deny anything is wrong until Emma throws her out and Adele bursts and tells her she didn’t know why she cheated, but that she felt lonely even when they were together.
Question for the class: Do you all think this relationship could have been saved if Adele had learned to accept herself earlier on? Or would other factors still have led to the end of their relationship?
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