Masquerade, with Pierre Niney: he who embraces too much, holds badly [critique]

By refusing to choose which film he wants to make, Nicolas Bedos misses his cynical charge against the super-rich.

Released in theaters at the end of 2022, Masqueradeby Nicolas Bedos (The Belle Epoque, OSS 117 3…) will arrive this Sunday on free-to-air television, on TF1, opposite the closing ceremony of the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games, on France 2.

First was disappointed by this film, despite the undeniable talent of its actors, Isabelle Adjani, Marie Vacth and Pierre Niney in the lead. Here is our review.

On the Riviera, a former dancer is supported by a former movie star. For her part, Margot regularly sleeps with wealthy notables to pay her rent… Together, they will set up a diabolical plan. A group of mega-rich people are bored by the sea and every day imagine ways to humiliate those weaker than them. Until the poor people in question (in this case two young and handsome idlers) decide to take back control – their goal? To leave on a yacht or simply to have power.

It's hard not to think about No filter in front Masquerade the new massacre game orchestrated by Nicolas Bedos. But where Östlund's fable headed straight for its goal and rolled out its program at an infallible tempo, Bedos regularly gets lost along the way. The problem comes from the fact that the director hesitates between several films. Clearly inspired by the Hollywood of the great era, and conceived as a tribute to its actors (who all revisit some of their great roles), it swings between the great meta work about an aging actress (Adjani who once again makes her Sunset Boulevard), the scam movie style Death insuranceor the trial film…

Some segments are perfectly crafted and the chrome casting (led by Isabelle Adjani, Pierre Niney and Marine Vacth who has never been so incendiary…) is impressive. However, without a backbone, with its outrageous dialogues and forced twists, Bedos ends up leaving its viewer hanging with its slightly ugly, slightly cowardly and generally repulsive characters.

Something is wrong in OSS 117 3 [critique]