Mon roi - Il mio re

An excellent film dealing with the complex concept of couple and the vision of each of the two protagonists about love, with their own pasts, their hypothetical skeletons in the closet, their desires, their doubts, their regrets, their professional issues, ... and the faculty of idealizing the partner, ephemerally or perennially.

The actors Vincent Cassel and Emmanuelle Bercot are fabulous. Georgio is charming and highly sensitive. Tony is fundamentally under his spell and blindly idealizes him. We feel a connection apparently sincere and real between them, with an obvious alchemy. A constructive alchemy first, a little less afterwards. And the director Maïwenn produces an excellent film and demonstrates her undeniable qualities, after the unforgettable Polisse (2011) and its 13 nominations during the César 2012.

As a synthesis: a French must see. 7/8 of 10

Tony (Emmanuelle Bercot) tries desperately to recall the tempestuous relationship she had with Giorgio (Vincent Cassel). Why did they fall in love? Were they both in love or was it just her ? Who was Giorgio for real ? Was he himself at every moment or was he manipulating her ? How could she be so blind and how could she let this passion submit herself that much and that far into a circle of destruction ?

The controversial French director, Maïwenn, ex wife of Luc Besson has now proved (if she ever had to) she has reached maturity and mastery in every aspect of directing a movie from filming and directing actors to writing dialogs and a subtle scenario. The performances of the actors are just astonishing. Vincent Cassel seems he is like himself, smooth talker and bold, Emmanuelle Bercot gives it all showing restraint with huge pain,just like her character who cannot believe she has to go through that much but who needs to cope with every single situation. Anchored in reality, the cinema of Maiwen confirms it is based on genuine dialogs and a rough reality.

What is new and different from her other movies, it's that this time she tackles a very common theme: Love, passion, maybe with something less personal, but still with her rough way always at the limit of physical violence. Fortunately, there are light-full moments that make this drama pleasant to watch.

I was really surprised because I was not sure I liked the cinema of Maiwenn. I would even dare to say that this movie is not far from perfect (except the first scene with the psychologist that sounds so fake ! What a pity!). The strength of the film lies in its ability to hold the attention all the way through. It's indeed a breathless and thrilling experience to watch this film, because you expect the situation to worsen even more, you expect the character to realize what she is going though, you expect the director to make this passion a nightmare but she does not.

The film features an astonishing performance from the two actors (the actress received the prize for her performance in Cannes). It features as well intense moments of emotion interrupted from time to time with light-full and hilarious moments, especially thanks to the character of the brother. I would spot this as something new in Maiwenn's cinema, because she was not used to allowing us to take our breath... Very well done Maïwenn this time, can't wait to see the next one !

Greetings again from the darkness. We have all had that friend who falls head over heels for someone we know is not good for them. If we are a dutiful friend, we make every effort possible to open their eyes before it's too late. Sometimes they are simply too far gone to listen … and what follows is a roller-coaster of emotions, or even an outright train wreck. Writer/director (and sometimes actress) Maiwenn, who was once married to director Luc Besson, finds much to examine in the roller-coaster relationship of Georgio and Marie/Tony.

The story is viewed through the eyes (and recollections) of Marie/Tony played with exuberance by Emmanuelle Bercot. After a skiing "accident", Tony goes to a rehabilitation center to receive post-surgery treatment. While her knee is healing, she also spends her time self-analyzing a tumultuous and destructive relationship with her ex Georgio (Vincent Cassel). It's easy to see the parallels for her learning to walk again, while also learning to live again.

Tony is a successful criminal attorney and self-described "normal" woman. She falls hard for the exciting Georgio, a life-of-the-party type. Tony's brother Solal (Louis Garrel) and Georgio's suicidal ex Agnes (Chrystele Saint Louis Augustin) are both against this relationship, but it's challenging to stop the love bug when it hits this hard. The film acts as a blueprint of how relationships and falling in love can start strong, build to a crescendo, and then crash and burn.

Georgio has many childlike characteristics. He is fine when he gets his way, but explosive and manipulative at the drop of a hat. He is fully engaged in phase one which is filled with passion, lust, fun and excitement; however, once the everyday toil and maintenance of the relationship is required, his bi-polar personality becomes difficult to watch.

Addiction plays a key role here. Georgio is addicted to freedom, partying, and drugs; Tony is addicted to the excitement and passion that he delivers to her "normal" life. There are some cinematically rare "real life" scenes scattered throughout, and none better than the couple's first time in bed, and a later dinner scene where Georgio's charm and manipulation skills are on full display as he puts Tony in a no-win situation.

Vincent Cassel has joined Mads Mikkelsen on my short list of actors that I will watch regardless of the project. His screen presence is powerful and emotionally-driven, and here he generates both admiration and disgust at varying times. We understand why Tony is in a "can't live with him, can't live without him" mode. Emmanuelle Bercot (also a writer and director for other films) manages to cover the full spectrum of emotions during the film, and she takes us along for the self-reflection. We pull for her even as we question her sanity at times. Somehow we get it … he's the king of jerks, but he's her king. If only she had listened...

Very raw and emotional movie... such extreme emotions displayed with no filter... at times very frustrating, devastating and heartbreaking, other times extremely uplifting, passionate and heart melting! Truly a roller coaster...

I've already written about chemistry between Nicolas Cage and Tea Leoni in The Family Man and between Rebecca Hall and Jason Sudeikis in Tumbledown. But chemistry between Vincent Cassel and Emmanuelle Bercot surpasses everything I've ever seen. In all ups and downs love brings, two of them were able to maintain the same connection throughout the entire movie.

So far, I've seen Vincent Cassel starring in Irreversible and playing Jacques Mesrine in L'ennemi public n°1; two great movies. But his performance in Mon Roi is better than those two - maybe the single greatest performance I've ever seen. His delivery was amazingly realistic - like he didn't even act but acted like in everyday normal life. After seeing Mon Roi Vincent Cassel became Georgio Milevski for me.

Georgio Milevski initially appeared to me as an adulterous, drug using psycho. Nothing more. Maybe charming and funny psycho and hence a dangerous psycho. But as I continued to watch the movie I couldn't help myself not to feel some sympathy for him. Maybe there was something frank and loving about him. Maybe he's loving at the core of his heart which has been ruined by addictions. My reason told me there was nothing good about him but my heart told me a different story - that in which Georgio sincerely struggles to overcome what he had become for the sake of his partner. I'm still not sure who he really is and that makes me uncomfortable because the same feeling must have gone through Tony's head. That ignorance may be the reason she allowed herself to submit to him. I think this attitude lies at the very heart of "can't live with, can't live without" relationships. That's why this impersonation may be the best I've ever seen - it made me feel disturbed and angry but sensible as well since there just is something mysterious about Georgio.

Emmanuelle Bercot played Tony - deeply committed but deeply inside broken women who tolerates more than she should. After seeing Tony's struggles I asked myself again a question which begets a decent answer: why do we remain committed to relationships which bring only pain and misery? Is that love? Can love be destructive towards yourself? No. It's addiction which makes us stick to destructive relationships. Georgio and Tony are somehow very alike: he's addicted to drug and partying but Tony's addicted to him. They're both addicts struggling to quit - Georgio taking drugs and Tony dating Georgio.

The way I interpreted a relationship between Tony's physical rehab and her reminiscence of a relationship is the following: her physical rehab is just a vivid analogy of her psychical rehab; the same way she has to treat her knee in order to be repaired is the way she has to treat her heart. With patience, tenderness and help of other loving people.

In conclusion: this is a type of movie which may touch you deeply if you were ever involved in tumultuous relationship. You may find looking at your past or present relationship as a third person since Mon roi may bring forth some memories.