"Masquerade" by Nicolas Bedos is based on the Director's unpublished novel. Screened out of competition at the 2022 Cannes Film Festival, this extraordinary cinematic piece approaches the life of Adrien (Pierre Niney), a former injured dancer, that decides to enjoy his youth in luxury. The key to that luxurious life is shaped in the figure of Martha (Isabelle Adjani) - a talented actress, obsessed with herself and her career. This relationship has nearly no love in it, but for part of the film, is represented as a "win-win" situation for both characters. On one side, Adrien gets the extravagant life at the French Riviera and on the other side Martha gets the constant presence of someone besides herself.
Adrien is portrait from the beginning of the film as someone with a lost soul. No longer being able to dance and trapped into the life of someone that he has no empathy for, his whole life changes when he meets a stunning woman named Margot (Marine Vacth). She is represented as dangerous, beautiful, adventurous, and fearless; they both start a wild relationship and together they elaborate a scheme around real estate - and Simon, the real estate boss, gets to be the perfect target. The whole film is around a trial of this scheme and reveals who did, in fact, shoot Margot (the first scene of the movie). All of Adrien and Margot's stories are revealed in the depositions in the trial and in flashbacks.
A major part of the film is about explaining the complex illegal scheme and (almost) deadly relationship the main characters start to create. Bedos managed to divulge, in a precise way, the most perverse and ugly side of humanity, the weight that money and luxury have on our current society and how far some are willing to go to get this life - with no care and total contempt for others. This point is accomplished with the amazing cast - Giulia (Laura Monrate) as a hotel owner that seeks revenge and Simon (François Cluzet), a married man that ends up on being fooled by Margot's charm and twisted games. - "It's money what she wants. You're a pigeon, pal", Carol (Emanuelle Devos) to Simon.
Nicolas Bedos managed to maintain the suspense in each scene, getting the spectator to stay with the story to capture every detail. Even though the mystery is achieved, it should be mentioned the little tricks the Director plays with the watcher. In the beginning of the movie, Bedos uses the Somerset Maugham quote that says the French Riviera is a "sunny place for shady people" and in the begging of Adrien and Margot's relationship, she says to him that she just wants to be with her child, with no man. Both moments ended up being omens regarding the story of this romantic thriller. The brilliance in it must be the placing of these hints and the subtle way they are shown, allowing the viewer to get the satisfying reaction when connecting the dots at the end of the piece.
The opulence and richness portraited during the film is incredibly well achieved with the work of the production design (Stéphane Rozenbaum) - which its talent was already proven in "La Belle Époque" (2019, Nicolas Bedos).
Left with an ambiguous ending, regarding the shooting of Margot, Nicolas Bedos delivers to the public a complex, twisted, and rich vision of modern society. A true mascarade.
Adrien is portrait from the beginning of the film as someone with a lost soul. No longer being able to dance and trapped into the life of someone that he has no empathy for, his whole life changes when he meets a stunning woman named Margot (Marine Vacth). She is represented as dangerous, beautiful, adventurous, and fearless; they both start a wild relationship and together they elaborate a scheme around real estate - and Simon, the real estate boss, gets to be the perfect target. The whole film is around a trial of this scheme and reveals who did, in fact, shoot Margot (the first scene of the movie). All of Adrien and Margot's stories are revealed in the depositions in the trial and in flashbacks.
A major part of the film is about explaining the complex illegal scheme and (almost) deadly relationship the main characters start to create. Bedos managed to divulge, in a precise way, the most perverse and ugly side of humanity, the weight that money and luxury have on our current society and how far some are willing to go to get this life - with no care and total contempt for others. This point is accomplished with the amazing cast - Giulia (Laura Monrate) as a hotel owner that seeks revenge and Simon (François Cluzet), a married man that ends up on being fooled by Margot's charm and twisted games. - "It's money what she wants. You're a pigeon, pal", Carol (Emanuelle Devos) to Simon.
Nicolas Bedos managed to maintain the suspense in each scene, getting the spectator to stay with the story to capture every detail. Even though the mystery is achieved, it should be mentioned the little tricks the Director plays with the watcher. In the beginning of the movie, Bedos uses the Somerset Maugham quote that says the French Riviera is a "sunny place for shady people" and in the begging of Adrien and Margot's relationship, she says to him that she just wants to be with her child, with no man. Both moments ended up being omens regarding the story of this romantic thriller. The brilliance in it must be the placing of these hints and the subtle way they are shown, allowing the viewer to get the satisfying reaction when connecting the dots at the end of the piece.
The opulence and richness portraited during the film is incredibly well achieved with the work of the production design (Stéphane Rozenbaum) - which its talent was already proven in "La Belle Époque" (2019, Nicolas Bedos).
Left with an ambiguous ending, regarding the shooting of Margot, Nicolas Bedos delivers to the public a complex, twisted, and rich vision of modern society. A true mascarade.