Not every filmmaker can throw out some of the most violent imagery you’ve ever seen while making you howl laughing at the same time. Quentin Tarantino, Wes Craven, and Sam Raimi are the directors who first come to mind when you think of horrifying sequences full of blood and guts that are equally entertaining and funny. The most recent director who should be added to that list is the French actress Noémie Merlant, who, in her directorial debut, gives us a hilariously twisted tale of friendship and sisterhood, which treats us to a scene of a woman trying to reattach the tip of a man’s severed penis.
The Balconettes (Les Femmes au balcon in French) marks Merlant’s first outing as a director, based on a script she wrote with French auteur Céline Sciamma. Sciamma directed Merlant in her most internationally recognizable role, 2019’s Portrait of a Lady on Fire. Premiering earlier this year at the Cannes Film Festival in Merlant’s native France, The Balconettes is Tarantino-esque in its highly stylized approach to violence. However, it hasan inherent sense of humor that announces itself right from the first shot. Its unpretentiousness and presentation of women, farts and all, allows Merlant to blend wholesome themes like female friendship and current ideas such as bodily autonomy with a deliciously irreverent tale of three best friends hiding the body of a man one of them brutally murdered. On paper, it’s heavy stuff, but due to Merlant’s wicked sense of humor, it’s just about one of the funniest female-led comedies since Bridesmaids. Remember that Scarlett Johansson flop Rough Night? This is everything that film wanted to be.
What Is 'The Balconettes' About?
As if we’re being introduced to a team of international crime-fighting superheroes, the characters’ names flash across the screen as the frame freezes on an unflattering shot of each of the women. We quickly categorize them by way of their opposing personalities. Nicole (Sanda Codreanu) is the awkward writer who spends her days on the balcony of her Marseilles apartment fantasizing about her hot neighbor (Emily in Paris’ Lucas Bravo), as she peers into his windows while he dresses. Ruby (Souheila Yacoub), who also lives in the apartment, is the wildcard of the trio; when she’s not kissing goodbye to her two lovers that she just had a threesome with, she’s making bank as a camgirl, soothing the cries of one regular who can’t an erection because his boss hates him.
The girls immediately have a dizzying but clearly loving dynamic, as the camera follows their erratic movements around their stuffy apartment, Merlant shocking us with kinetic energy as the camera swoops in and out of the girls’ bedrooms and balcony. The film only earns more steam with the introduction of Elise (Merlant) the third best friend, an actress who lives in Paris with her overbearing rich husband. She shows up in a frazzled state, knocking into the hot neighbor's car before dramatically collapsing on the stairs, looking every inch of Marilyn Monroe. We quickly see how relieved she is to be back with her friends, “We can only be ourselves with ourselves”, she declares with innocent glee. Even though we know we’re in for some bloody action (the movie opens with the girls’ neighbor brutally murdering her husband and then celebrating with Nicole), Merlant takes the time to establish the comfortable dynamic between the three old friends.
After trying to sort out the car incident, Ruby gets the attention of the hot neighbor, and after a few flirty texts, he invites them over for a drink. With Snape-like hair and eyeliner, the fashion photographer convinces Ruby to let him take pictures of her for her online following. Nicole and Elisa leave, and the next morning, a catatonic Ruby returns covered in blood... but none of it’s hers. What follows is a hilarious descent into madness for the three women as they scream, scream some more, and try to cover up the violent murder of their neighbor.
The Performances Are the Best Part of 'The Balconettes'
Looking at Merlant and Sciamma’s past work, such as Portrait of a Lady on Fire, you wouldn’t think the pair were destined to write a laugh-out-loud comedy. While there are some brilliant lines in the script, the real humor of the film comes from the three terrific lead performances. Even though Elise is introduced as a blonde bombshell clad in a figure-hugging dress, Merlant quickly shatters that illusion as Elise rambles about not being able to breathe, lying on the ground and tilting her head, not caring about her neck squashing into her chin. Like how many have responded to Florence Pugh’s facial acting, the three actresses here are under no illusion that they need to look good in every shot.
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Merlant is comfortable giving us a full view of her unclad vagina as she awkwardly waits for the doctor to examine her. When Hollywood movies proclaim to be about “real women,” they pale in comparison to how unpretentious and boundless Yacoub, Codreanu, and Merlant are here. While all of them are conventionally beautiful, we see them fart, struggle on the toilet, eat creamy desserts with their hands, and at one point, masturbate with a stapler. More than that, they’re all terrific comedic performers, using every muscle in their faces as they harmonize their screams looking at the dead body of a man with his ass out impaled on a light stand. It’s the perfect mix of violence, comedy, and letting women be themselves, and with this being Merlant’s first film, it’s an even more impressive feat. It’s a welcome shift from the demure, reserved, but still oh-so-sexy female-led action stars or even some of the more mainstream comedies. These three feel like real friends who are, at the end of the day, terrified idiots who committed and covered up a heinous crime.
'The Balconettes' Is One of the Best Comedies in Years
The Balconettes is one of the most audacious and confident movies you’ll see this year. Merlant fully goes for it in her directorial debut, tethering on a maximalist style without ever feeling indulgent. Her visual style feels exceptionally suited to comedy — not every director could show a woman suffocating her husband with her ass and get raucous laughter from the audience. Merlant is greatly aided by the costume design of Emmanuelle Youchnovski, who also gifted us Demi Moore’s yellow coat in The Substance this year. From Elise’s Old Hollywood Marilyn look to Ruby’s E-girl Miley Cyrus core to Nicole’s odd penchant for florals, the costumes perfectly magnify how much fun the film is having in reveling in every tool at its disposal to pull us into this dizzying and intoxicating tale.
But it’s the lead performances of Yacoub, Codreanu, and Merlant that seal The Balconettes' fate as a must-see. In buddy comedies like these, the movie lives or dies on the chemistry and seamless back-and-forths between the characters, and the friendship between Ruby, Nicole, and Elise is why you keep watching. Despite being known to international audiences for her brooding dramatic performance in Portrait of a Lady on Fire, screaming at a man for trying to warn her that one of her tits is hanging out is where Merlant shines. The Balconettes is the announcement of a formidable comedic voice.
The Balconettes is an irreverent, dizzying, and hilarious descent into madness that only be rectified by the power of female friendship.
- The three lead performances are exceptional, making every scene burst with energy.
- Merlant's directorial style feels assured despite it being her first outing.
- The mix of comedy and violence is on par with what we expect from the likes of Tarantino.
- The movie positions Nicole as the protagonist, despite Elise and Ruby being much more compelling characters.
- The commentary on sexual assault gets lost in the chaotic mix of style and humor.
The Balconettes screened at this year's BFI London Film Festival.
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