User reviews

I feel that 'Madame' needs a few words spoken in its defence.

Trying to keep this as spoiler-free as possible, this is a lovely, bitter-sweet little dramedy, unusual in its ending. And this latter element is precisely what is charming about it. It is not just another Disney-like, implausible, 'Cinderella' story of the type Hollywood throws up at us with admirable frequency. Though by far not a masterpiece, and in search of a character, being not quite a drama, nor quite a comedy, the ending makes it stand out.

In my view, the ending is perfect precisely because it is more realistic, it feels more real. Characters who live in a false world (keeping thin by forcefully throwing up, or organising luxurious parties while being on the verge of bankruptcy) remain in their false world, continuing to suffer in their gilded cages. Is that not the perfect punishment? People who were always dignified, who had self-respect and a certain untouched morality, retain their dignity, their esteem, in their own eyes, and in the eyes of the audience. Is that not an effective ending? It is not necessary to always have the same reversal of roles, easily served, and so easily digested, dispensed with, and forgotten.

Every time a script goes outside the usual, overused Hollywood trope, audiences start to bitch and moan at how awful this is, how unsatisfied they are. I have a strong feeling, that if it had the ending everyone is so anxious for, these same people would say: 'Well, where's the novelty in that? We've seen that before'.

Haven't we seen enough 'Maids in Manhattan'? Do we really need yet another fairly empty romance story with the usual players - the low-born or low-placed but (always!) beautiful girl, the quirky, but ridiculous best friend, the rich and powerful stud who crosses the social divide for love? Such films are sweet, but outside their very narrow romantic premise, sweet as that may be, they say very little either about society, or about the people in it, their character, their self-perception, their understanding of the world around them. 'Madame' has something to say about these things. It says it with much less panache than 'Remains of the Day', but it is closer to the real world of today than other romantic comedies.

No, I do not consider 'Madame' a masterpiece. Nor do I feel it wants to be such. If its aims are modest, they are still interesting and valid, and if the satire and social commentary are modest, this does not make them necessarily less effective, or less intelligent.

Perhaps giving it a 7 is too generous (or, depending on ones perspective and understanding, not generous enough). Yet I feel the ending does merit recognition, and if I gave the rest a six, the ending pulls in a star on its own.

The comedy of manners genre uses satire to expose the rituals and affectations that pass for social politeness. Driven by witty dialogue and characterisation, it laughs at the best and worst in human behaviour. A good example is the comedy drama Madame (2017) that blends themes of race and class in a charming Cinderella tale of self-discovery.

The plot line is deceptively straightforward. Pretentious American couple Anne (Toni Collette) and Bob (Harvey Keitel) have rented an elegant manor in trendy Paris to impress their friends and clients. On the eve of a 'spare-no-expense' formal dinner a guest cancels, leaving the dinner table with an odd number of guests. Anne instructs her shy servant Maria (Rossy de Palma) to make up the number, pretend to be a Spanish lady friend, and say very little. After a few drinks, Maria becomes outgoing and is noticed by British art broker David (Michael Smiley) who is convinced she is a mysterious aristocrat. To Anne's horror they begin seeing each other despite desperate attempts to stop them.

Woven into this simple plot is a portrait of a lowly maid hoping to be loved for who she is, not what she does. Her nemesis is Anne, the wicked witch who wants to keep her in place. While Keitel and Smiley competently fill their supporting roles, the emotional energy comes entirely from the two female stars. Collette portrays scandalised with consummate bitchery as she engineers what she calls a 'slow-motion car crash' and de Palma does a heart-warming rendition of the maid who dares to hope. Brilliantly filmed in Parisian locations, its narrative twists and turns play on themes of class ritual and racial stereotype. The script is at times laboured with trite references to knowing one's place, but it is de Palma who keeps the story alive. She uses those big innocent eyes to convey how it feels to suddenly believe that someone really loves you, all while being oblivious to the masquerade into which she has been thrust. De Palma's unconventional aesthetics become a device to highlight the deeper values of kind-hearted character and the superficiality of skin-deep beauty.

This slow-burning comedy is a study of inflated egos and natural humility. Its minimal plot allows the focus to stay on the battle between primal feminine drives, one stopping at nothing to preserve the social order, the other swept up in a Cinderella dream. Not all fairy tales have conclusive endings and nor does this one. But it has enough laughter and warm-hearted moments to be worth watching despite its BYO ending.

This film tells the story of a maid who fills in as a guest in her employer's dinner party. A wealthy art dealer falls for her, and a tricky situation ensues.

Even though it is a comedy, I actually feel bittersweet. It is great that the maid has her moments to shine, but I really hoped for that particular ending. After all, as a character in the film says, everyone hopes for it, so I certainly hope for it too. It is funny in the beginning but changes drastically in the end.

A film that looks at the relationship between employer and employee. It has several funny scenes but it's easy to choke on the laughter since the story feels a bit too real at times. I enjoyed it and even if there's some nasty bits I think the film has a positive vibe

It was a fine comedy with a strong beginning but a rather weakish second half. Toni Collette was great and and the top of her game with another great characters under her belt and she once again proved her abilities as a true chameleon actress. Also she was quite sexy here, that just on a side note. It was good to see Harvey Keitel in another major role and he obviously had a lot of fun with his character. A very vital performance. The true highlight of the film is the performance of Rossy de Palma. What a riot! She totally owns every scene she is in with her great charmes comedic timing and depth. A very good supporting performance. The rest of the cast is solid enough to give the film some drive. The screenplay was not great, as I said story and dialogue worked at the beginning but it seems they ran out of ideas quite quick and did not offer a great conclusion and neither a very interesting development. Fine score and good cinematography make it worthwhile.

This is totally a Rossy de palma's Movie. She takes the cake with her awesome performance be it the comic timing or the seriousness of her character. Toni and Harvey fo good jobs in their roles. But sadly the ending was too disappointing. I mean it could have been better. Overall worth a watch though.

This movie could have been something truly amazing but it just seems to limp along without much focus at any of the main plot points. The only saving grace was the dead pan wit and charm of Rossy de Palma.

Rossy de Palma, Toni Collette, Harvey Keitel, Paris....What could go wrong? Well, the story and the ending.

The first two-thirds are hilarious and set the scene (gorgeously) then it falls off a cliff, ceases to be a comedy or even a drama, and for the last third is in search of an ending. The final is unsatisfactory in every respect. This could have been great. What happened? Did somebody snatch the script out of the hands of the author/director and insist someone else write it? Whatever, it does not work. All the actors are brilliant, the Paris is a Paris unseen in previous films. The cinematography is wonderful. The story, like the curate's egg, is good in parts, the first parts...... I was in the 2nd audience to see this at the Sydney Film Festival and the director, Amanda Sthers, gave a Q and A in a charming French accent but she stated that is the ending she wanted. But there was a lot of justification. Coulda been a contender.

As though the electric bill hadn't been paid, four plot lines and the entire movie gets cut off and credits roll 4/5ths of the way through the film. Otherwise - Toni Collette was dreadful, mugging her lines grotesquely. Rossy de Palma was wonderful, Harvey Keitel was ... professional, but played his character as oddly resigned, as though he was aware that the story was going to get clotheslined Great sound track Why was the mess released?

Well I am annoyed. Just watched the movie, and what was a pretty good film had a really crappy ending. Toni is a real hypocrite and total bitch in the movie, you really want her utter snobbery to be her undoing. Problem with trying to make a movie like French Cinema, is that it is unsatisfying for an American audience. The ending is plain bad. I gave the movie a 6/10, that seems fair to me, since it goes nowhere and the ending is just not good. Really annoys me to see a good movie end so badly. Worth watching for Harvey Keitel, but I totally hated the character Toni Collete is playing, she is without mercy and an utter snob. Ironic that she claims to be a Democrat in the movie. The Director should have delivered a better ending. Can't believe that's it.

Thoroughly enjoyed most of this movie but found the ending too abrupt. I am fine with it not being the traditional "happy ending" of most films. But it felt like the story was unfinished. Or maybe it felt that way because I was invested in Maria and wanted to know what happened next.

All I can say is the movie left you with your mouth open in total disbelief. I have never felt as robbed, and disappointed as I was at end of "Madame" it even managed to make me dislike one of my favorite actors # Toni Collette!

THE ENDING SUCKED !!!

An ending almost too heartbreaking for a character almost too sweet. A maid is forced to play-act as a rich socialite for her boss at her boss's dinner party. While dining she wins the heart of one of the attendees. Beautifully cast and played.

In this almost one-woman show Amanda Sthers wrote the story, the screenplay, the adaptation (with Matthew Robbins), and directed this biting farce about wealth and values and prejudices and love etc. Largely due to a fine cast of actors this slight film works though it does wander a bit and leaves some plot lines unfinished.

Adding a little spice to a waning marriage, Anne and Bob (Toni Collette and Harvey Keitel), a wealthy and well-connected American couple, move into a manor house in romantic Paris. While preparing a particularly luxurious dinner for sophisticated international friends, our hostess Anne discovers there are thirteen guests. Panic-stricken, Anne insists her loyal maid Maria (Almodovar favorite actress Rossy de Palma) disguise herself as a mysterious Spanish noble woman to even out the numbers. But a little too much wine, and some playful chat, lead Maria to accidentally endear herself to a dandy British art broker (Michael Smiley). Their budding romance will have Anne chasing her maid around Paris and finally plotting to destroy this most unexpected and joyous love affair. The subplot of art dealing is left unresolved as is the final resolution of Maria hopes for lasting love.

Toni Collette is, as usual, a pleasure to watch - all innuendoes and snappy dialog and looks that melt other characters. Rossy de Palma is terrific and the remainder of the cast lives up to the very slight story demands that never quite get off the ground (or finishes).

The premise of this movie appealed to me and as usual the trailer drew me in. The cinematography was superb and most of the acting spot on. So what was the problem? In my opinion this was not a good movie. Initially I put this down to the very unsatisfactory ending. It's as if the writer couldn't decide how to end it. Had a few ideas and picked the worse one. However, retrospectively I can see a small justification for that ending and I now think the real reason I didn't like the movie generally was because it just wasn't funny enough to warrant being a comedy. Neither was it interesting enough to be a good drama. Not one laugh out loud during the entire 91 minutes, just a few subdued smiles. My rating 4.5/10 Not recommended

I mostly enjoyed it. Interesting situation, especially the dinner scene. The ending was disappointing.. I wonder what the director/producers were aiming for?

I am attracted to off beat film genre but this one just did not cut it. The movie starts off OK and then gets disjointed with basic 101 directorial omissions which throw you completely, a dinner table scene is preceded with the guests arriving and being welcomed by the hosts with the obligatory kissing and hugging, detailed conversation groups are filmed with dinner table natter at some length, suddenly there is a surprising shot of a child sitting at the table who has not been seen in preceding scenes, he seems to have been added to the movie as an afterthought. The plot is a series of illogical sequences not stitched together by proper direction, the director appears to have relied on the gravitas of Harvey Keitel to smooth over this lack of synchronicity which of course is insufficient glue to stick this mess together.