Garçon chiffon

It is a lovely bucket of stories. Seductive for the fresh acting of Nicholas Maury, for Nathalie Bayle - her mother reminds mothers of many of us -, for dark humor, for an adorable puppy and for the fair end.

A story about vulnerability, depression, jealousy, soulfull, illusions versus truth , relations and acceptance of reality, french in its essence , giving a good fist of portraits and analysis, delicate and ironic, precise in each part of message.

A story about honesty to yourself. Maybe about inner peace..

This beautiful film has so many layers it is hard to know where to begin. First the acting which is superb without exception and I have to single out Nicolas Maury and Nathalie Baye. The story itself is of Maury struggling against the odds to regain his 'sanity' in a Paris that looks mentally out of control. The early scenes when he confronts his group of friends, and his all too sane lover are both tinged with humour and despair. His lover throws him out and Maury cannot find work as an actor, and this situation drives him home to his mother, played by Baye. Hard not to give away more spoilers, but I am resisting. I also felt while watching this film that we all need to recognise our loss of so-called traditional 'sanity' and that only then do we recognise the true worth of life. Two key scenes showed this; one with Maury and his mother towards the end where her true feelings towards her deceased husband are revealed, and the other with his now estranged veterinarian lover who struggles to save Maury's beloved dog's life. Rarely has such maturity been shown so vividly on screen, and Maury who was also director of the film shows every nuance possible of these troubled relationships. But nothing prepared me for the impact of the ending; for the beauty it showed in its hopeful rebirth of a continuing and possibly better life. I urge viewers to watch this masterpiece of film making and to wonder how it is that French film can also surprise us with its wisdom and its force of renewal. I left this cinematic experience feeling that it is best after all to live from day to day, and that is perhaps a thought that could save us all. A well deserved 10.

I certainly have a problem with Nicolas Maury: be he straight ("les envoutés" ) or gay (this movie) ,his affected delivery gets on my nerves ;his hangdog look is more exasperating than moving ; it's just an opinion,and some (particularly the highbrow critics) find him sublime:there's no accounting for taste .

"Boys like us" also tells the sentimental problems of three gays but the results were always credible and the movie ,whilst showing respect for the audience , was accessible to anyone .

This one may make some take to their heels after 30 minutes because the scenes don't make any dramatic progression ;but fortunately , Natalie Baye appears as a mom who calls her boy "chiffon" (=rag) ,hence the title ;Baye could blow anyone off the screen but her part is underwritten,and she was never given a single chance to really shine ; she's not so over possessive a mother ,one has seen worse in this field. Theo Christine gives his director a run for his money in the scene by the pool , one of the rare ones in which the movie seems to go somewhere .On the other hand, Laura Calmy's hysterical fit of anger is absolutely unbearable :did she want to surpass Liz Taylor in "who's afraid of Virginia Woolf? Happily , she's got only one scene !

The movie is supposed to depict a gay man's jealousy ,but it's hardly obvious (his partner,a vet ,has an affair with another man,his mother is helped by a man who might take her from him ,but these scenes are few and far between) and it does not compare favorably with Chabrol's "l'enfer" .

The main character has no redeeming qualities whatsoever... He is so unattractive and annoying, I was amazed he'd got as far as he did in life... All in all: bad directing, bad acting, bad script. If I could give it less than 1 star I would.

"My Best Part" (French title: "Garcon Chiffon") is a French comedy-drama, first released for the Cannes Film Festival in 2020 but having a limited release in the US on February 25th 2022. It will also be available on a range of streaming platforms including Amazon and Apple+.

Jérémie is a gay Parisien actor consumed with jealousy. Depressed and mistrustful of everyone and everything, his love-life and work-life are in freefall as a result. After the suicide of his father, a memorial service is planned. Perhaps a visit to his mother in their family home in the countryside can reset his mental state?

At the time of writing the movie was not yet rated. If I was rating this for the BBFC it would be a 15 in the UK and an R in the US, due to full-frontal male nudity and themes of suicide.

Positives:

• I never found this less than engrossing. As a study of mental decline, I was never quite sure what the struggling and impassioned Jérémie might do next. His 'everlasting' love for veterinarian Albert (Arnaud Valois) seems genuine and heartfelt, but that doesn't stop him flirting with the Adonis that is his mum's handyman Kévin (Théo Christine).

• Within all the dramatic angst are dropped moments of extreme farce;
• - Jérémie attends a meeting of 'Jealousy Anonymous' where the participants declare "It's been xx days since I wised up"!

• - The dotty grandmother (Florence Giorgetti) jokingly accuses her grandson of groping her... mistaking him for his dead father!

• - And after Jérémie's father has blown his head off with a shotgun, the honour guard fires four shotguns into the air, making Bernadette and Jérémie both wince!

• Nicolas Maury, familiar to British viewers from "Call My Agent!", delivers a gripping performance as the soulful actor. Also impressive, in a memorable cameo, is Laure Calamy as Sylvie, a neurotic and dementedly hyperactive film director. Terrifying!

• The quirky music score by Olivier Marguerit is very appealing.

• For pet lovers, the movie features the cutest puppy ever. We would already have a winner if Oscars were given for "Best Animal"!

Negatives:

• This would make a fabulous 90 minute movie. At 108 minutes, it feels like it overstays its welcome a tad. This was Nicholas Maury directorial feature debut and the movie needed some harsher decisions in the editing room.

• I suspect the enigmatic ending might frustrate a lot of people (although I rather liked it).

Summary Thoughts on "My Best Part": Some arthouse French films tend to leave me cold. But this one is suitably quirky and I thoroughly enjoyed it. Both intelligent and moving, its black humour maintains interest throughout. Recommended. This deserves to get a UK cinema release, through a chain such as Picturehouse. (@picturehouses).

(For the full graphical review, please check out #onemannsmovies on the web. Thanks.)