Madame (2017) Reviews

• Do we really need another "Maid in Manhattan"?

  ngegir-963212018-04-13

  I feel that 'Madame' needs a few words spoken in its defence. Trying to keep this as spoiler-free as possible, this is a lovely, bitter-sweet little dramedy, unusual in its ending. And this latter element is precisely what is charming about it. It is not just another Disney-like, implausible, 'Cinderella' story of the type Hollywood throws up at us with admirable frequency. Though by far not a masterpiece, and in search of a character, being not quite a drama, nor quite a comedy, the ending makes it stand out. In my view, the ending is perfect, precisely because it is more realistic, it feels more real. Characters who live in a false world (keeping thin by forcefully throwing up, or organising luxurious parties while being on the verge of bankruptcy) remain in their false world, continuing to suffer in their gilded cages. Is that not the perfect punishment? People who were always dignified, who had self-respect and a certain untouched morality, retain their dignity, their esteem in their own eyes and in the eyes of the audience. Is that not an effective ending? There is no necessity to always have the same reversal of roles, easily served and so easily digested, dispensed with and forgotten. Every time a script goes out of the usual, overused Hollywood trope, audiences start to bitch and moan at how awful this is, how unsatisfied they are. I have a strong feeling, that if it had the ending everyone is so anxious for, these same people would say: 'Well, where's the novelty in that? We've seen that before'. Haven't we seen enough 'Maids in Manhattan'? Do we really need yet another fairly empty romance story with the usual players - the low-born or low-placed but (always!) beautiful girl, the quirky, but ridiculous best friend, the rich and powerful stud who crosses the social divide for love, etc? Such films are sweet, but outside their very narrow romantic premise, sweet as that may be, they say very little both about society, and about the people in it, their character, their self-perception, their understanding of the world around them. Madame has something to say about these things. It says these things with much less panache than 'Remains of the Day', but it is closer to the real world of today than other romantic comedies. No, I do not consider 'Madame' a masterpiece. Nor do I feel it wants to be such. If its aims are modest, they are still interesting and valid, and if the satire and social commentary are modest, this does not make them necessarily more ineffective. Perhaps giving it a 7 is too henerous (or, depending on ones perspective and understanding, not generous enough). Yet I feel the ending does merit recognition, and if I gave the rest a six, the ending pulls in a star on its own.

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• Abandons four plot lines

  redhandmoto2018-04-13

  As though the electric bill hadn't been paid, four plot lines and the entire movie gets cut off and credits roll 4/5ths of the way through the film. Otherwise - Toni Collette was dreadful, mugging her lines grotesquely. Rossy de Palma was wonderful, Harvey Keitel was ... professional, but played his character as oddly resigned, as though he was aware that the story was going to get clotheslined Great sound track Why was the mess released?

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• Fails at the final third.

  carolethecatlover2017-06-13

  Rossy de Palma, Toni Collette, Harvey Keitel, Paris....What could go wrong? Well, the story and the ending. The first two-thirds are hilarious and set the scene (gorgeously) then it falls off a cliff, ceases to be a comedy or even a drama, and for the last third is in search of an ending. The final is unsatisfactory in every respect. This could have been great. What happened? Did somebody snatch the script out of the hands of the author/director and insist someone else write it? Whatever, it does not work. All the actors are brilliant, the Paris is a Paris unseen in previous films. The cinematography is wonderful. The story, like the curate's egg, is good in parts, the first parts...... I was in the 2nd audience to see this at the Sydney Film Festival and the director, Amanda Sthers, gave a Q and A in a charming French accent but she stated that is the ending she wanted. But there was a lot of justification. Coulda been a contender.

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• A comedy that ends in an unexpected manner

  Gordon-112017-12-22

  This film tells the story of a maid who fills in as a guest in her employer's dinner party. A wealthy art dealer falls for her, and a tricky situation ensues. Even though it is a comedy, I actually feel bittersweet. It is great that the maid has her moments to shine, but I really hoped for that particular ending. After all, as a character in the film says, everyone hopes for it, so I certainly hope for it too. It is funny in the beginning but changes drastically in the end.

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• Starts well but then disappoints

  Frame-By-Frame2018-04-29

  The premise of this movie appealed to me and as usual the trailer drew me in. The cinematography was superb and most of the acting spot on. So what was the problem? In my opinion this was not a good movie. Initially I put this down to the very unsatisfactory ending. It's as if the writer couldn't decide how to end it. Had a few ideas and picked the worse one. However, retrospectively I can see a small justification for that ending and I now think the real reason I didn't like the movie generally was because it just wasn't funny enough to warrant being a comedy. Neither was it interesting enough to be a good drama. Not one laugh out loud during the entire 91 minutes, just a few subdued smiles. My rating 4.5/10 Not recommended

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