PRESS REVIEW – Women on the balcony by Noémie Merlant, released in theaters on Wednesday December 11, was not unanimously received by the French press.
Two years later My love, mon amourNoémie Merlant returns to directing with Women on the balconyin theaters Wednesday December 11. The director delivers a film about the adventures of three friends sharing a hot summer in Marseille. They meet Nicole (Sanda Codreanu), an apprentice writer lacking inspiration, Ruby (Souheila Yacoub), a sex worker, and Elise (Noémie Merlant), an actress trying to escape a disastrous shoot, an oppressive husband and stifling obligations.
Revealed in Cannes in « midnight session »this horror comedy co-written by Céline Sciamma addresses the themes of sexist and sexual violence, including within couples, emancipation and friendship, without unanimous approval from French critics. Starting with our colleague Eric Neuhoff from Figaro who considers that “actress Noémie Merlant misses her second film, a bloody pseudo-feminist satire that falls flat. »
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« At times bloody and radical, the film, very well served by its staging, its three main actresses – including Noémie Merlant herself, and an unconventional Lucas Bravo – is intended for spectators as open-minded as 'warned', note The Parisian . A result which also pleased the Inrockuptibles : « Burlesque comedy, fantasy film, social drama, feminist chronicle: Merlant embraces everything, sometimes at the risk of scattering himself, but his joy is infectious », analyzes the writing. Followed by West France who seems to share the same opinion : « A summary of everything that Noémie Merlant denounces (…). And it works! ». « A very amusing film, where the mixture of genres serves female emancipation »greet Humanity . Just like Marie Claire who sees this comedy as « jubilant and bleeding which presses where it feels male. »
A failed film?
If for these media, the film is a success, others are not convinced. « A group film par excellence celebrating the reappropriation of the body, Women on the balcony will leave some behind, but not necessarily because it puts men in an uncomfortable position. In recent weeks, The Substance et animated also exploded similar lines with a rage undoubtedly better framed », declared The Voice of the North. The Monde think no less: « Colorful, supercharged, electrified by all the things that Noémie Merlant wants to say and show, the film co-written with Céline Sciamma ends up getting bogged down in the dissertation, and in a desire to check all the boxes of the perfect scenario which would not omit no topics: abortion, rape, periods, farts, masturbation, sorority… ».
« Rarely addressed on screen, marital rape is treated head-on. But by wanting to do too much, by mixing humor and social criticism, Noémie Merlant's script […] gets heavier as the scenes progress, analyzes the writing of the Point . Before continuing : “Too bad, because this punk and feminist comedy has some good moments. » On the side of L’Obs nothing seems to work: « Machos, rednecks, slanderous husbands, rapists who ignore each other: that’s all there is to it. Why not ? But the self-satisfied incompetence of this misandrous satire with gore leanings, leering at Almodóvar and Sam Raimi, makes it as embarrassing as it is unsympathetic ». To conclude, « a trashy (and failed) comedy » as described Marianne.
