The debut English-language social comedy of the French director Amanda Shters, released in September 2017, it was no coincidence that she received an IMDb rating of 6.90. Reviews of the film "Madame" (2017) position the picture as another romantic-comedy variation of the well-known Cinderella story.
Uncompromising movie
Starting as an ordinary rum, Madame soon becomes by no means a benevolent film project about overcoming class barriers, but a real gloomy and venomous comedy about the insurmountable differences in social strata and the worthlessness of the “powerful people of this world”. According to the author, nothing has changed in Europe since the Middle Ages, a maid can live for decades with a family of aristocrats, be an ideal servant, and all polite words addressed to her are nothing meaningful hypocrisy or ostentatious politeness.
Storyline development
The development of the plot of the picture, reviews and reviews for the film "Madame" is no coincidence compared with the well-known tale of Charles Perrault. The narration introduces the viewer to the influential American couple Bob (actor Harvey Keitel) and Anne (actress Tony Collette), who lives in Paris, organizes a dinner party for 12 people. Suddenly, the son of the head of the family arrives on this day, and mistress Ann, superstitious, not wanting 13 people to sit at the table, orders her maid to dress appropriately and take part in the event under the guise of 14 guests. The Spanish maid Maria (Rossi de Palma) behaves directly during a feast, attracting the attention of the eminent British art dealer (Michael Smiley) with her sincerity, who is sure that she is talking with an eccentric aristocrat. The mistress of the house is furious because her servant is flirting with a man not of her social stratum, however, all the initiates have to play along in every way to Mary, because their welfare depends on the verdict of the gallery owner.
Enviable Realism
The film "Madame" (2017) received criticism from film critics. According to cinema experts, Amanda Shters managed to create the quintessence of the most relevant and popular topics of the modern French film industry. Her work includes gender differences, family issues, social stratification, and tolerance. The director from frame to frame filigree builds arguments that denounce the shortcomings of the elite of European society with long-obsolete aristocratic customs. According to reviews of the film "Madame", the picture is a cinematic personification of the antithesis as a principle of the functioning of society and as an artistic device. The author's script Shters is as harmonious as possible: each character with his motivation and actions has a pronounced counterbalance. This structure is extremely permissible brings history closer to reality.
Cutting edge reading
Reviewers, analyzing the film "Madame" (2017), in the reviews indicate that the director, turning to the most archetypal plot construction and character characteristics, really offered the viewer an ultramodern reading of the Cinderella story. At the same time, in her creative research, Amanda went much further than Wayne Van with "Lady Maid" and Garry Marshall with "Pretty Woman". Cinderella in the interpretation of Shtters and performed by the brilliant Rossi de Palma is not only traditionally friendly and modest, but also able to express her opinion, take risks, succumbing to an unexpectedly surging feeling. The main difference from the classic fairy-tale image is that the main character realizes herself as a person no less worthy than her aristocratic masters and fights for her rights. As filmmakers emphasize in their reviews, the film “Madame” is not just a female interpretation of a fairy tale story, but also a successful directorial attempt at an integrated approach to solving eternal existential problems. Emotionally expressive emphasis on a woman’s right to be herself in the tape carries not only a feminist or democratic notation, but a philosophical one.
Comedy Merits
Amanda Shters, who wrote the script and directed the project, perfectly succeeds in fixing the parallel development of different stories, interwoven into a single plot outline, forming a general conflict that saturates the film project. Among the advantages of the film "Madame" reviews of professionals are called finely executed art and visual solutions, every second reinforced by the rhythm of editing and reinforced by a memorable musical accompaniment. The comedy is supplemented by the typical French humor - topical, subtle with a distinctive touch of bitterness of satire. The director, in tandem with the performers of key roles, was able to truly ridicule the aesthetic, moral and social foundations, to sing an ode to humanism, giving the audience an hope.
Acting Ensemble
According to reviews of the film "Madame", the picture is a clear example of the fact that many of the talents of European performers remain hidden in projects of the national film industry. Most really gifted actors, having flashed in separate festival hits, undeservedly find themselves in the shadow of less talented Hollywood stars, and Rossi de Palma is no exception.
The Spanish actress was “discovered” by the director Pedro Almodovar in 1986, since then the performer regularly starred in his projects - “Law of Desire”, “Women on the verge of a nervous breakdown”, etc. Despite her exotic appearance, de Palma soon became the muse of designers T. Mugler, P. Gauthier and Sybil. Rossi gained significant status in the fashion world after the release of the comedy “High Fashion” by R. Altman. In the movie "Madame", the actors were able to revive the classic collision, but only Almodovar's muse was recognized as the only perfect star. The heroine of Rossi looks the most unpredictable and funny among the rest of the characters. The performer breathed charm into even the most predictable actions and banal cues of her character.
Somewhat inferior to her Tony Collett, who played Ann. The Australian actress was nominated for an Oscar for The Sixth Sense, became the winner of the Golden Globe and Emmy for her participation in the TV series Such Different Tara.
British comedian actor Michael Smiley looks very much like Tim Roth, but there is no relationship between them, so the similarity is a pure coincidence.