Mon roi (2015)
Directed by Maïwenn

Film Review

After the storm, the reflection...  For her fourth feature, actress-turned-director Maïwenn finds herself on well-trodden territory as she serves up a familiar tale of an intense love affair that ends in horrible disillusionment, no doubt drawing on her own painful past experiences as she does so.  Ingmar Bergman's Scenes from a Marriage (1973) remains the definitive treatment of the subject against which others are to be measured; next to this, Maïwenn's turgid, self-absorbed and mostly vacuous attempt to cover the same ground looks pretty feeble and it is only the presence of its two charismatic lead performers - Emmanuelle Bercot and Vincent Cassel - that prevents it from being a totally futile exercise in directorial self-aggrandizement.  It would appear that the success of the director's previous film Polisse (2011) has gone to her head and she now sees herself as one of France's leading film auteurs.  Dommage.

Mon roi exhibits most of the weaknesses of Polisse whilst lacking pretty well all of those qualities that helped to make it one of the worthiest films of 2011, not least of which is an original premise tackled in an innovative 'sur le vif' manner.  Resorting to the hackneyed device of recounting the breakdown of a relationship via a series of flashbacks, Mon roi attempts to make up for its lack of narrative originality by resorting to histrionic excess of the most egregious kind.  The flat, archetypal characters are inflated like blow-up dolls in a crude attempt to make them 'come alive', through a combination of excessive writing and even more excessive acting.  Raw energy is no substitute for real drama - the film offers plenty of the former, and precious little of the latter.

Some obvious weaknesses in the script (a lack of structure, reliance on clichéd situations, thinly developed characters...) are painfully exacerbated by Maïwenn's habit of filming long, improvisational takes, which can't help looking like a poor man's imitation of Maurice Pialat.  Amidst the dross and soap-style hysteria, Mon roi does contain some impressive content, and with some drastic pruning, the film could easily have been redeemed.  Sadly, Maïwenn has yet to appreciate the virtue of discarding superfluity, and so her film is overlong, uneven, repetitive and peppered with scenes that reek of tiresome amateurishness.

Thankfully, the performances go some way to rescuing the film, with a particularly strong contribution from Emmanuelle Bercot, who was rewarded with the Best Actress award at the 2015 Cannes Film Festival (which she shared with Rooney Mara for Carol (2015)).  A capable director as well as an accomplished actress, Bercot has also received praise this year for her film La Tête haute (2015).  Cassel's casting as the seductive alpha male par excellence is hardly a stroke of genius (it is the kind of role in which the actor is visibly most at ease) but his presence provides the gravitas that the film badly needs to anchor it in something resembling reality.  Playing Bercot's wiser younger brother, Louis Garrel is surprisingly effective in an uncharacteristically sympathetic role, and the director's sister Isild Le Besco is well-utilised in a supporting role.

The abundance of acting talent doesn't however equate to quality performances and some of the acting is downright dodgy.  When the main characters are not screaming at each other they appear strangely distant, as if unsure where the next line is coming from.  The scenes set in the present timeframe - in the rehab centre where Bercot amuses herself in the company of photogenic physically handicapped young men - almost belong to another film, and these take up too much (about a quarter) of Mon roi's runtime to justify their inclusion.  It would be unfair to describe Maïwenn's overwrought fourth feature as a total write-off, but after the breath of fresh air that was Polisse this ungainly rehash of an all-too-familiar subject can hardly fail to disappoint.

Film Synopsis

After a serious skiing accident, Tony, a lawyer in her late thirties, finds herself in a rehabilitation centre recovering from a severe leg injury.  Prompted by her therapist, she recalls her turbulent past decade with Georgio, her companion on a passionate but ultimately destructive love affair.  They met at a nightclub and hit it off straight away.  Georgio was a successful restaurateur and had the appearance of the ideal partner.  But once they had married and had a child Georgio's true nature became apparent and the relationship was soon heading for the rocks.  Just how could the perfect romance turn so sour...?