Director: Francois Ozon
Starring: Nadia Tereszkiewicz, Rebecca Marder, Isabelle Huppert, Fabrice Luchini, Andre Dussollier, Dany Boon
Distributor: Mon Crime
Runtime: 102 mins. Reviewed in Oct 2023
Reviewer: Peter W Sheehan

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Rating notes: Mature themes, violence and nudity

This subtitled French film follows an actress who gains fame after she has been acquitted for murder, and stays famous after what really happened is revealed.

A penniless actress, Madeleine Verdier (Tereszkiewicz), is acquitted of the murder of a powerful and influential stage-show producer on the grounds of self-defence. The film is a loose adaptation of a 1934 play of the same name, written by Georg Berr and Louis Verneuil, and pays homage to the film drama, The Last Metro (1980) by Francois Truffaut. Huppert plays Odette Chaumette, parodying the style of silent film actress, Sarah Bernhardt.

Madeleine and her best friend, lawyer, Pauline (Marder) both know that Madeleine was a victim of male sexual harassment and assault. This is a movie that celebrates triumph over lecherous producers, and aims to satirically target self-serving legal authorities. After Madeleine meets with a wealthy theatre producer in Paris, he is found shot dead. The magistrate, who investigates the producer’s murder jumps to the conclusion that Madeleine must be responsible for his death, and he knows that a confession from her would be good for his legal career.

Under pressure, Madeleine confesses to the crime, and Pauline, her lawyer, pleads self-defence in court. Pauline addresses the jury, by appealing for recognition of female independence. Her plea is successful, and Madeleine becomes the toast of Paris in a new hit play in which she is given the lead role. But things go wrong when Odette turns up to claim she is the real murderer. Odette tries to reap the benefits, she sees Madeleine is experiencing for a crime she knows Madeleine did not commit. ‘The crime is mine’ she tells Madeleine.

Helped by light and frothy scripting, director Ozon presents a period comedy which deals with contemporary feminist concerns. The film is strong in its focus on wrongs done to female characters. Its sharp, satirical feminist edge is evident in courtroom proceedings and reimagined accounts of the producer’s murder. In each account of how the producer was killed, Ozon works to reinforce the film’s overall comic thrust.

The movie offers an entertaining treatment of contemporary feminist issues, and it explores them in a stylish, easy-going way. Good scripting reinforces the appeal of a film that targets male domination of the film and stage industries with satirical bite.

Vendetta Films